


Wrapped Up in Death

by sunryder



Category: NCIS, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mutants, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-01-13 00:35:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1206310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunryder/pseuds/sunryder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gibbs and Tony were arch-nemeses in training. At least, until Tony tried to save the X-Men and found himself with a new family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story several years ago for the NCIS Big Bang and posted it to livejournal. In the process of transferring all my older works to AO3, I rediscovered it. (I don't know about you, but it's always a good day when I stumble across an old favorite that now I can download to my kindle.)
> 
> It's been heavily edited to smooth out the things I found painful to read, but the plot remains mostly the same, so don't be concerned if it sounds familiar, or seems overly dramatic.

Jethro Gibbs strode into Xavier's office without knocking, saw the mutant sprawled indolently in front of the Professor’s desk, and stormed right back out again.

Gibbs made it a whole three steps before he felt Xavier’s mental sigh brush along the back of his mind like fingers through his hair. The summons would’ve been easier to swallow if the Professor’s touch had felt less amused by Gibbs’s irritation, but despite that, Gibbs clenched his jaw and stormed back into the room before the door had the chance to close behind him. But rather than take the empty chair beside their guest – the once obviously meant for him – Gibbs came to parade rest as near the exit as he could get.

 

The impromptu visitor tilted his head back to smirk at Gibbs re-entering the room. The pose spread him out in a lazy line that exposed the long column of his throat like, Jethro wasn’t dangerous enough to do anything about it. Gibbs clenched his jaw to keep himself quiet and turned his attention to Xavier so that this could be over with sooner. From his place at Xavier’s left hand, Wolverine snorted out something similar to ‘I told you so,’ despite the comment not using any words.

 

Of course, the interloper decided to take Gibbs’s silence as permission to interrupt. “You look a little tense, Gunny.” The insolent _kid_ was a Brotherhood mutant a few years younger than Jethro, but through sheer charisma and a power that no X-Man quite knew the specifics of, had managed to climb the ranks. They called him Scythe, a sufficiently vague but ominous sort of name that made Gibbs want to throttle him just to prove a point. Scythe was nothing more than a kid, with a mess of badly behaved dark brown hair, an impudent smile, and wide green eyes that could dupe the less well informed into believing he was innocent.

 

“I think I’m allowed to be tense when there’s an enemy combatant in my home,” Jethro gritted out between clenched teeth. “We asked Magneto for information, not for one of his lackeys.”

 

“Hey, hey, hey.” Offended, the boy popped out of his slouch. “First, get your terms straight: I’m not a _lackey_. Second: what? You thought Magneto was just gonna send you an e-mail? Because last time I checked, you didn’t know how those worked.”

  
Gibbs had the vivid impulse to grab the other man by the scruff of his shirt and throw him through the office window, but Xavier interrupted. “Gentlemen, if the two of you insist on maintaining your petty squabbles you will do so outside of this house. This is a place where all mutants are safe and welcome, no matter their pasts. I will not let your pride get in the way of that mission.”

Jethro nodded his compliance, which the other man felt the need to one up. “You have my most sincere apologies, Professor.” The words were right but the tone was overblown. Rather than shout about the disrespect to one of the greatest mutants on the planet – a mutant that Scythe’s own leader had killed for numerous times in the past – Xavier just quirked an eyebrow, his smile reminding Scythe that he could crack the boy’s mind open like an egg. Scythe stiffened under the full weight of Xavier’s attention and actually dipped his head in a show of humility that Gibbs would’ve bet his life was beyond the boy’s capability. This time he stumbled out something closer to a genuine apology and with a graceful nod, the professor moved on.

 

“Since I doubt that either of you has ever taken the time to deal with one another in a civilized manner, allow me to handle the introductions. Jethro, this is Scythe, and Scythe, this is Jethro, whom I believe you know better by the name of Gunner.”  
  
Scythe snorted, "Jethro?" any trace of his attempt at humility went out the window.   
  
"At least I have a real name." Gibbs shot back.  
  
"Scythe is the name I chose, not the name forced on me by the government that you—”  
  
" _Forced_ on me? I choose to serve my nation!"  
  
Scythe snorted, "No one  _chooses_  to work for the Feds!"  
  
The slice of Wolverine's claws unsheathing was enough to cut them both off. "I've got better things to do with my day then listen to the two of you bitch at each other. Shut the hell up and listen."

Gibbs could feel Xavier’s disappointment that they’d been forced to resort to threats so early on in the conversation, so he bit back the impulse to keep going. Xavier seized the silence and explained. "As you are both aware, I contacted Magneto about the rumors we've been hearing to see if his less savory contacts had any information to add. However, rather than reply through standard means, Magneto has sent Scythe as an offer of aid."  
  
Mutants all over the Eastern seaboard had complained of losing time, followed by a span of several hours where their powers didn’t work quite right, with gifts either spontaneously weakening or cutting out completely. Even with the Professor’s Cerebro-enhanced powers, no one could figure out what was causing these problems. Despite that uncertainty, they knew the street mutants who refused to have anything to do with Xavier or his X-Men were easier targets for , he assumed that Magneto and his Brotherhood would be better informed on the issue.  
  
"We don't need aid." Jethro grunted through gritted teeth. "We just needed to know whether or not your master had anything to do with this."  
  
Disgust flicked across Scythe's face. "Master? First off, my _leader_ is out there getting his hands yourself. Second,” Scythe plowed on over the warning tension in Jethro’s jaw. “The thing doing this to our people has been moving up the power scale, going after stronger and stronger mutants. This precious school of yours is nothing but a feast of untrained, sitting ducks. Whoever they are, it's just a matter of time before they come here."  
  
"We can protect ourselves."  
  
Scythe actually had the nerve to laugh. "I think you guys would try and give it a lecture instead of put it down."  
  
Before Gibbs had the chance to spring out of his seat and get his hands around Scythe’s throat, Xavier interrupted. "I do believe Erik said you came to this school to provide information, not to irritate Jethro into an early grave.”  
  
Scythe twisted around to stare at Xavier, dropping Gibbs from his attention like the other man wasn’t worth the effort. "I didn't think there was anyone on the planet allowed to call him Erik."  
  
"Yes, well, arch nemeses are granted certain privileges that the rest of the world are denied."  
  
Scythe cocked his head to the side and watched Xavier like he was picking apart the telepath with far more skill than Gibbs would’ve given him credit for. "So you’re Kenobi and Vader?"  
  
The pain in Xavier’s smile bled away. “Mostly. Now, if I may ask: what precisely were Erik's instructions to you?"  
  
Scythe settled into professionalism. "He wanted me to tell you everything we know, yes everything," he reiterated at the disbelieving look on Wolverine's face. "And then I'm supposed to stay and defend the school ,and call to him in case the mutant in question turns up."  
  
A swift look from Xavier kept Gibbs from snapping. "And that 'everything' would encompass…?"

"The mutant doing this is a psychic vampire. The vamp meets the victims and drains enough power from them that they lose time."  
  
Xavier steepled his fingers and leaned onto the desk. "And the blackouts that precede all subsequent symptoms are the result of a psychic link between the attacker and their victim?"

"That's what Magneto figures. We think the power fluctuations happen when the victims try to use their powers at the same time the vamp is tapping into them from the link’s other side. To be able to drain this many people of power, at this consistent a rate, and from these distances..."  
  
"Narrows down the field of potential attackers considerably."  
  
Xavier and Scythe were bouncing ideas off one another like old friends, and something in Gibbs’s gut clenched. "Why would this vampire keep a connection to the victim and drain them in pieces instead of doing it all in one shot?"  
  
Scythe looked legitimately confused that Gibbs didn’t know the answer to that question and Jethro glowered at him for it, which didn’t seem to bother the other mutant at all. "A person can only hold so much life at once. So if this vamp kills their victim, that's all the power they're gonna get."  
  
"But," Xavier added. "If the vampire takes only a portion of the power and leaves the victim alive, then the victim has the opportunity to regenerate that energy, meaning that the amount of energy they might drain from the victim is almost limitless."  
  
"They using the power or stockpiling?" Logan growled.  
  
"Stockpiling." Scythe answered before he could stop himself.  
  
Wolverine didn’t waste energy on actual words when he didn’t have to, and quirked one scruffy eyebrow in question. Scythe didn’t bother pretending like he didn’t understand, but he did fidget like he was trying to figure out a way to answer without giving the X-Men information they strictly didn't need. "There's a Brotherhood member who can sense the power levels of other mutants. A few days ago she felt a psychic-type mutant shift up from a level three to a level four, but the mutant's shielding is too strong for her to track them down. But that doesn’t tell us why the vamp is hoarding other people's power."  
  
"Which means that Erik would like me to make use of this information and track down the mutant in question using Cerebro?"  
  
"If you can." Scythe shrugged.  
  
Xavier grinned like the younger man’s attempt at playing coy wasn’t fooling anyone. "Jethro, why don't you show Scythe to his room and help him get settled. He'll be staying with us for the foreseeable future."  
  
"Professor?" Gibbs questioned, his face impassive but his mind ranting about trustworthiness.  
  
"Scythe is to be given the same rights and privileges as any student while he’s with us. Please see to it that the rest of the population is informed." Xavier spoke out loud, but Gibbs could feel in the back of his mind Xavier's promise that he meant it. There was to be no sneaking around to discover Scythe’s secrets, or locking him in the Danger Room until he begged for mercy. Jethro gave a tense nod in reply to both the spoken words and the unspoken ones. "Now that I know what I'm looking for, I will turn my attentions with Cerebro to a mutant with fluctuating levels of power and perhaps I will be able to find the offender. When I do you shall be informed immediately."  
  
Scythe nodded his agreement to the plan and both men turned their gazes to Jethro. Xavier was expectant, while Scythe tried to smirk his way through the tension. Without another word, Gibbs went for the door, not checking behind him to see if his charge was following. Scythe heaved out a put upon sigh and gave Xavier a pleading glance before he made himself after Gibbs.  
  
Logan grunted something about how this was going to end badly and trailed behind the boys to make sure that neither of them snapped and started fighting in the hallway. Charles spared a moment to be bemused by the way Scythe managed to fluster the normally unflappable Jethro. Then he sank back in his chair and allowed himself to give in to concern.  
  
Charles Francis Xavier was the most powerful telepath in the world, and despite the ever more insistent prodding of his mind, he could sense nothing from the Scythe. Neither a trace of emotion, nor a stray thought made itself known. It was a rare feat to forestall Xavier’s mental touch, and the only time he was ever wholly blocked out was when Erik went behind the shield of his helmet. Despite that, the truly disquieting thing was that Xavier had reached out with the sort of touch he used to tell if a person was living, and he had felt nothing there. Either this Scythe had the most strict mental control Charles had ever encountered, or there was something at play here he wasn't sure he could contemplate.  
  
Xavier put aside his frustration with Erik for not revealing the whole truth in time to feel Magneto's far distant mind open before him like petals to the summer sun. It had been years since Erik had willingly made a hole in his mental shields so that Charles could feel the presence of his mind from a distance farther than the length of his office, and the effect of Erik's mental touch was almost haunting.  
  
Xavier reached out to the mind he once knew as well as his own and asked,  _Erik?_  
  
He felt a rush of smugness before Magneto replied,  _I knew you'd sense me._  
  
 _I assume from your glee that someone doubted my ability to find you? Or was it that they doubted your ability to lower your shields for long enough to let me in?_  
  
Xavier felt the mental equivalent of a 'humph'.  _Most of my Brotherhood haven't seen you in action, so they believe the reports of your powers are so extreme that Mystique must be making things up as a tool to frighten them away from ever thinking of joining your X-Men._  
  
Charles smiled, both mentally and physically. _I could send a mental projection of myself to torment them if you'd like? Perhaps then Mystique could start telling them that I'm a ghost as well._ Charles could feel Erik restraining a grin and willed himself to ask,  _I assume you didn't take off that bloody helmet just to prove a point to your mutants?_  
  
Erik sighed.  _I need you to keep Scythe at the school._  
  
Charles waited a moment and replied,  _I'm sorry, but could you repeat that? I'm positive I heard you wrong._  
  
 _Must you be so dramatic, Charles?_ Magneto grumbled.  
  
 _Says the man who couldn't just pick up a phone and say he wanted the boy here, but instead felt the need to send him on a secret mission?_  
  
Only temporarily.  
  
Xavier waited for Erik to elaborate, and when he didn't, Charles grumbled, _You know something more about the psychic vampire than you've been telling._  
  
 _... I have suspicions._  
  
So you would have me endanger my school to protect one of your lieutenants, and you won’t give me the information I need to do it properly?  
  
Charles felt Magneto restrain himself from snapping back something cruel.  _If I have my way the problem will never make it near your damn school and my presumption that you’ll do whatever you can to protect any mutant youth will have been successfully dissuaded._  
  
Charles mentally rolled his eyes and replied,  _And if the boy decides to stay here permanently?_  
  
Magneto didn't reply for several moments, letting the silence stretch out between them before he gave a hushed answer.  _He'd be beyond my strength to stop._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the people who left reviews! And I apologize that this took quite so long to get posted, it shouldn't take quite so long for the next one.

Much to Scythe's irritation, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning was beautiful. Years with the Brotherhood meant that Scythe had imagined the building as the sort of dark and foreboding place you only saw in BBC dramas of gothic novels, but it wasn't.

Mahogany panels lined hallways of pale marble and arching windows that cast long lines of light across the rooms and hallways. The place might have passed for depressing if it weren't for the children everywhere. There were young ones running amok in the giant British-style gardens of the backyard, teens trapped in the great hall for their first class of the day, and young adults that Scythe figured were in their own special version of Xavier University were sprawled under the trees taking in the warmth of a fading summer. The younger students shouted out their hellos to Jethro as he walked past while the older students nodded a hello then scurried away when Gibbs glared at them if they thought about coming forward to introduce themselves to the new kid.  
  
After the fourth person scuttled away at Gibbs’ growl, Scythe laughed. "So, I take it you're a bastard to everybody and not just the people you're picking fights with?" Jethro—because apparently there were still people in the world named Jethro—didn’t waste one of his preciously rationed words on a reply, and Scythe bit his lip to keep from calling him Agent K. (He didn’t think Gunner would appreciate, or understand, the joke.)  
  
Scythe rolled his eyes and went back to soaking in every detail about the school he could. But no matter how much he watched he was still baffled by how peaceful things were. The whole school seemed... _happy_ , and it was really messing with his head. Scythe meant to scope for exits, but he kept getting distracted by students darting past with their bright smiles and full backpacks, using their gifts in the hallways like there was nothing in the world to hide from. Scythe stalled at one of the windows and stared down at the students busy playing a game of basketball out in the yard. One boy was passing the ball back and forth between copies of himself, while another stretched like he was made of rubber and caught a ball in the air above the hoop while a girl ran circles around all of them.  
  
Scythe had spent his own childhood in fear of his father until his eleventh year when he'd come into his gifts and Magneto had saved him from the humans in his life. Eight years later and Magneto and Mystique were now the closest thing he had to a family, but life with Magneto's Brotherhood was never safe. They hopped from city to city, house to house, sometimes tenements, sometimes mansions, with the members of the Brotherhood always rotating in and out before you could get attached. These students seemed stable, like they'd never been attacked here, never had a companion die their arms, and never even been in a fight.  
  
There was a part of him that hated them for that peace.  
  
And another part still that never wanted to leave.  
  
While Scythe watched one of the students accuse the other of cheating and wondered how in the world they decided which powers were acceptable and which weren’t, Gunner grabbed him by the back of the neck and wrenched him away from the window. Scythe whipped around, fists up, and wrenched himself free. "I was just staring out the window, you bastard!"

Gibbs, in his infinite assholery, just smirked like Scythe was the one overreacting, and that, that was too much for him. Seesawing between the supposed acceptance in this place and the X-Men still treating him like he was the scum on the bottom of their shoe, made Scythe furious. The Brotherhood may be dangerous, but at least they were on the side of every mutant rather than shunning those they disagreed with. Scythe kindled a spark of black fire in his fist and set it skimming up to his arm to the spot on his shoulder where Jethro had him gripped. The shock of biting heat was enough to make Gunner yelp in a way Scythe was positive the other mutant hadn't made since he was a kid. "What the hell?"   
  
"You're hauling me around like I did something wrong when I'm here to save you!"

"We don't need your help."  
  
Scythe stuffed his hands in his pockets like the fury in Gibbs’ voice didn’t piss him off. "And I'm fine with letting you and your damn ego get drained dry by whoever is doing this, but Magneto asked me to stay and look after all of you. And unlike some people, I’m capable of following instructions.”  
  
Gibbs clenched his jaw and strode right into Scythe's space, somehow managing to look down on him despite being the shorter one in this argument. "I’m not one of these dumb kids you can smile at and convince to join the Brotherhood. I know damn well what you people actually do. Magneto doesn't care about the X-Men, he cares about doing as much damage as he possibly can to humans, which seems more like the reason you’d be here."  
  
Scythe threw his hands in the air. "Are you really so paranoid that you think this is the best plan we could've come up with to get a spy in the school? Seriously? You guys welcome in random people off the street!"  
  
Somewhere around his fifth word, Scythe noticed the way Gibbs’ eye had started to twitch He probably should’ve taken that as a warning sign, but he was right, and Gibbs’ eyes were this intense shade of icy blue, and suddenly Gibbs slammed him into the wall. They both froze for a breath before Gunner drove his fist into Scythe’s cheekbone. Scythe block his face, black flame ripping up his arms so when Gibbs landed his next blow he reared away from the heat. But innate stubbornness amplified by extensive training made Gibbs throw himself back at the walking inferno that was Scythe.  
  
Gibbs' powers were subtle, the kind that the unaware would attribute to luck right up until the moment Gunner took your legs out from under you. He leapt for Scythe, unleashing his augmented speed and strength to take the other mutant down before he could defend himself. But in that split second while Gunner moved, Scythe slammed his fist into Gibbs’ ribs. A ball of fire mushroomed from his touch and sent Gunner flying across the hall. He twisted in midair and hit the wall with his feet, pushing off and into a roll. Scythe let his power go, and the sight of black fire licking up his forearms was enough to make Gunner pause.

A bright giggle interrupted the moment of hesitation. Gibbs just sighed at the strange noise, while Scythe whipped around, expecting the laugher to be unhinged. (After all, between he and Gunner they had enough power to take down half the house before Xavier could stop them.) The giggler was a teen girl, younger than Scythe by a few years and made to look even younger by the pigtails in her black hair. Though, her short, plaid skirt made up the difference.

"You guys are so weird," she snickered. Scythe just stared at her and her bright smile, unable to understand what the kid could possibly find funny at this moment. "You're obviously a good guy you'd never hurt anybody if you could help it. So why are you pretending to try and send Gibbs through a wall?"  
  
Scythe flinched at this girl accusing him of being anything other than lethal, and he expected Gunner to smirk at him for being called soft and squishy, but Gibbs just furrowed his brow like he was actually mulling on what she’d said. The girl looked back and forth between them and her smile stiffened. "Oh crap, were you two  _actually_  fighting? Like, on purpose?"  
  
"Maybe." Scythe replied stiffly.  
  
"Oh." The girl turned away like she was going to leave to it, but only made it two steps down the hall before she twisted back around and announced, "You know it’s not gonna work, right?"  
  
Scythe lifted a hand still humming with black fire and raised an eyebrow. "Seems to be working."  
  
The girl just laughed, bright and absolutely sure. "You’ve never hurt him before, so you’re not gonna do it now."  
  
Tony flushed under her scrutiny and stuck out his chin in defiance. "What makes you so sure of that?"  
  
The girl cocked her head like she was trying to puzzle him out, then gave Scythe a sad sort of smile. "Because you feel right."  
  
She strode into Scythe's space with no concern for the fire on his skin. He pressed back into the wall behind him to put some space in between them and stuttered out, "I- I what?"  
  
The girl lifted one hand and brushed it through the air around Scythe's face, tracing the line of his temple down to his jaw and coming to rest in a hover over his heart. She looked up at him with a contented grin and affirmed, "You sound right." Her pronouncement made no sense to him so he gaped at her until she explained. "My mutation is about sound. Reverberations, waves, tone,  _music_ , that kind of thing. I'm not really any use in a fight, but I listen to people, to all the little vibrations that make them up, and you're beautiful."  
  
"You don't know what you're talking about. You don't even know who I am."  
  
"I don't need to.” She shrugged. “I know you're gentle, and that you never in a million years would've even thought of going after Gibbs until he made you. I know you feel happy and safe here, and you have no idea what to do with that." A blind man could’ve seen the panic flare across Scythe’s eyes and the girl flopped forward to wrap him up in a hug. "You’d never hurt us. You're good for us, and good for Gibbs, and I'm so glad you're here."  
  
Scythe stood with his back pressed up against the wall, as though he could dissolve through it and free himself from the girl holding on to him like he was her new best friend. And get away from the crowd of people who'd gathered at the end of the hall to stare at him like he was some sort of specimen to be dissected.  
  
The girl took pity on him and stepped out of the hug, but kept her hand in his, uncaring of the black flame that still covered his arms. He reigned in the fire, bottling it all back underneath his skin where no one could see. The girl pressed her arm against his, not flinching away from the leftover heat. Scythe couldn’t stop his smile at the wanton disregard for her safety, but smoothed the expression away with he caught Gibbs’ speculative smirk. (Against Scythe’s will, something in his chest unclenched.)  
  
"Well, it's nice to see that you're all getting along." Cyclops announced from the far end of the hall. The watching students tittered at the sarcasm-laced words. "I hate to interrupt, but Storm, Jean and I just got back from an assignment and we’d like to have a conversation with you about your placement here."  
  
Scythe’s smirk was viciously disingenuous. He’d been caught fighting in the hall with one of the X-Men’s favorite sons, and now Cyclops had all but called him a threat. There would be no coming back from that. He slipped from the girl’s grip with a wink and sauntered after Cyclops with a lazy grace that he knew made Gunner want to throttle him.

Gibbs watched him go, silently letting his worldview rearrange itself to come into alignment with Abby’s opinion. The changes didn’t have much chance to percolate though, because Gibbs found himself surrounded by a hoard of students demanding to know what was going on. As usual, one throaty female voice rose to the top. "The Professor can't honestly mean to let him stay here!"

Jethro Gibbs was an officer in the United States Marine Corp, an honorary member of the Avengers, and was one of the few people on Earth that Captain America actually trusted to use his shield. Which meant that no matter how much he wanted to, he did not sigh. What he did was steel his shoulders and face down Jenny Shepard, with almost every student over the age of fourteen clumped behind her. Fights rarely happened outside the Danger Room, and the sound of Gunner and Scythe going after each other had dragged in everyone from the four corners of the campus.

"Let it go, Jen."  
  
"Let it go!" she snapped. "Is he or is he not an active member of the Brotherhood?"  
  
"He's here to help with a problem." Which didn’t answer the question at all.   
  
"We don't need the Brotherhood’s help," Jenny scoffed.   
  
Abby snorted. "You don’t even know what the problem is.”  
  
Jenny glowered at Abby with the same fervent distaste the redhead had adopted for dealing with all of Jethro's friends since they'd broken up. As usual, Jen had assumed that the breakup wasn't her responsibility and the fault lied with his friends driving them apart, and that fault transferred to everything they did. With Jen making things difficult for them, Abby hadn't even tried to make her own response graceful. (Abs had nothing but the greatest respect for the X-Men, and she even planned on coming back to teach students and run the lab after she'd finished her own doctoral work. It was because she adored the X-Men that her stomach couldn't quite take the thought of Jen standing as one of them.)  
  
"The trouble we've been having isn't the point, Abby. He's our enemy, and the Professor is letting him run around the house!"  
  
"He's Charles Xavier!" Abby shouted. "Do you honestly think that there's anyone on the planet better suited to say whether or not someone can be trusted in his school? You think Scythe wasn't scanned before Xavier let him anywhere near students?"  
  
Jen's expression turned smug as she asked, "Are you sure?"  
  
Abby rolled her eyes at the unnecessary drama. "Whatever, Jen. I know what I heard in him, and that's all I need." Abby stormed away from them, ignoring the way Jen tried to call after her. Jethro gave the group a stern glare, then followed Abby. He took comfort from the way the crowd dispersed at their departure rather than stood there to listen to Jen keep ranting.  
  
Abby darted around the corner at the end of the hall, and judging by the thump and grunt Gibbs could hear, she'd found Scythe eavesdropping. He found Abby hugging the life out of Scythe, apologizing for all the things Jen had said about him, while Scythe stood with his arms held uncomfortably out to his sides and stage whispered to Gibbs, "She's hugging me."  
  
Gibbs grinned back, "Yeah, Abs does that."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"She thinks you're trustwothy. But weren't you supposed to be getting interrogated by the rest of the Professors?"  
  
"So did I, but we got to the office and there was some yelling going on on the other side of the door, so Cyclops told me we'd try again later."  
  
Gibbs just grunted, and Abby ignored the stiff posture of them both to grab Scythe by the hand and pull him off down the hall. "Come on, I've got people for you to meet!" She pulled him off toward the dormitories, and Scythe turned a pleading look back at Gibbs, asking to not be dragged into making nice with the other students when he just wanted to do his job. Gibb's grin turned wicked as he just shrugged, following behind as Abby kept rambling as she tugged.  
  
Abby had declared that Scythe could be trusted, and though Gibbs trusted Abby's gifts, he wasn't fool enough to let Scythe roam through the school unchecked until his own gut agreed.  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I promise the next chapter won't take so long to edit. I'm going out of town next week and I harbor the secret hope that I'll get it all out to you before then.

For the rest of the night Abby bounded around the school with Scythe at her side and Gibbs trailing along beyond like a stoic shadow. Abby introduced Scythe like he was her new best friend, and anyone who looked like they had a problem with that got glared at by Gibbs until they ran away. Eventually, Abby finished her tour of the building (which seemed to focus on the science labs and her secret stash of caffeinated beverages), and pulled Scythe into one of the smaller reading rooms on the school’s highest floor.   
  
Scythe was greeted by a boy who nearly squeaked himself right off his chair at the sight of a brotherhood mutant. The room’s other occupant just rolled his eyes and set aside his book, leaving Gibbs to haul the squeaker to his feet with a, “Geeze, McGee.”

“Don’t be too hard on the lad, Jethro. After all, this is a bit of a break from your usual routine.” The one calling the other boy “lad”—“Donald Mallard, my dear fellow. Feel free to call me Ducky,”—couldn’t have been much older than Gibbs, but he managed to pull off the superiority. “I do apologize for not being present earlier in your adventure, but I doubt anyone could have given you a better tour than Abigail. Although, I do wish I had been there to be of some help during Jenny's witch-hunt. But I'm afraid that when I'm downstairs in the lab everything else seems to fade away."  
  
Scythe let the fellow ramble through a vigorous handshake and ended up focusing on exactly the part of that sentence that Gibbs had expected. "Ducky... seriously? That's your real name?"  
  
"Of course not, lad. Ducky is a nickname I had since long before I gained my gifts My 'real name' is Donald, but since that's terribly stiff I doubt it will suit me until I'm closer in age to the good Professor."  
  
Scythe flopped down onto one of the comfy reading chairs rather than stand in the center of the room while Ducky pumped his hand. "But what's your _name_. The one you chose when you found out what you really are?"  
  
"I don't have one." Scythe stiffened in shock and Ducky sat down on the coffee table in front of him to explain. "I have no intention of serving as an X-Man. I'm studying to be a doctor, not a soldier."  
  
"But, Beast's a doctor and he's got a real name." Scythe replied, obviously confused by the concept of a mutant being anything other than a weapon.  
  
Ducky gently smiled. "From time to time Dr. McCoy serves as part of the X-Men, so he found it necessary to have a code name. Also, it's rather difficult to avoid getting an additional name when you're blue and furry."  
  
Abby laughed at their conversation and wrapped an arm around McGee to force him to stop gaping and instead sit beside her on the couch. "Are Ziva and Cait coming tonight or are they still following Jen around like you did something wrong?"  
  
Tim flushed at the contact, but managed enough courage to flick his eyes over to Scythe. In a fit of compassion he didn’t leer at the kid, but instead gave him a soft ball of a question. “That’s the angry redhead, right?" Tim flushed in embarrassment, but nodded that it was true. Scythe turned his bright and teasing grin over to Gibbs. "So does the redhead have a legitimate reason for hating me, or is she just pissed at everyone who has anything to do with you because you fumbled the breakup?"  
  
Gibbs glowered at him, but Ducky's giggles stopped him from whatever complaints he might have voiced. "Oh Jethro, stop glaring at the lad, you know he's right."  
  
Gibbs just grunted and dropped into what Scythe guessed was his favorite chair (based off the fact it was a little battered while the rest of the room was pristine, and it was tilted with a clear sight line to both the door and the windows). Ducky gave Gibbs an affectionate grin before turning back to Scythe. "I suppose Abby dear has told you what all of us are capable of?"  
  
"Actually Abs just told me about herself. Though I don't quite get the sound thing."  
  
Ducky's eyes lit up in excitement at the chance to discuss mutations. "It's fascinating actually. Everything is made up of moving molecules. Even the most solid or frozen of objects still has molecules that vibrate at a certain frequency, and Abigail hears those vibrations."  
  
"And she can tell from the sound of the vibration whether something is… wrong?"  
  
Abby grinned and nudged Scythe with the toe of her black boot. "You mean, 'can I tell if you're evil or not'?"  
  
Rather than acknowledge the burst of pain the question inspired, he smirked back. "Something like that."  
  
Abby hopped up from her spot across the table and snuggled in to the sparse space beside Scythe. (He made a point of keeping his arm on the back of the chair rather than on her shoulder. He thought Gibbs might kill him or McGee might cry if he did otherwise.) "I've been around enough bad people to know when their sound is off."  
  
"So you listen to molecular vibrations?"  
  
"Yup. The Professor says I should be able to control those vibrations someday, but right now I just listen to the music."  
  
"And what do you do, Ducky?" Scythe asked.  
  
Ducky smiled and stretched out his hand to rest his palm gently on Scythe's chest, holding there for a moment before he looked up at him with wide-eyed surprise. Scythe raised an eyebrow and Ducky stumbled out, "You're perfect."  
  
Scythe leered, and Ducky rolled his eyes, refusing to flirt back. "No lad, you're physically perfect. There's not a thing wrong with you. No cholesterol, no strained muscles, not even a bruise from your encounter with Jethro earlier today."  
  
Scythe could actually feel the aching stretch of his back from ramming into the wall, but he thought now wasn’t the time to mention the friendly mutant was wrong. "So, you're like a... scanner?"  
  
Ducky grinned. "Basically. I'm similar to Abigail in my ability to sense, but while she can tell wrong and right in everything, I can tell you precisely what's wrong but only in people."  
  
"Can you change things?"  
  
"You mean heal?"  
  
Scythe flinched. "Or, ya know, other stuff."  
  
Ducky ignored the implications of that question and answered. "I’ve never presented an ability to produce change in the bodies of those I scan, though my ability to sense the problems in the body has proven useful in surgery, and remarkable for autopsies."  
  
Scythe looked surprised. "Well that's morbid."  
  
Ducky just laughed. "My boy, well all make use of our gifts in whatever way we can. This just happens to be my preferred method."  
  
Scythe nodded at Ducky's zen-like approach and turned to McGee with the same question. The boy started at being the object of attention. "Oh, me? Well, I uh..."  
  
"Come on, Tim!" Abby cajoled. "Show him!"  
  
Tim blushed and reached out to touch a nearby lamp, the light flaring brighter before Tim turned out the bulb. Scythe smiled appreciatively. "Electricity?"  
  
Tim shook his head no and moved away from the lamp to pull his phone from his pocket, lifting it up for Scythe to see the screen. Without touching any buttons, Tim started playing an app. "You talk to tech?"  
  
Tim nodded and pocketed the phone, letting Abby do the detailed rambling about his power. "It's awesome, isn't it? He's practically omnipotent when tech gets involved." Scythe grinned at Tim's pleased flush and turned to Gibbs for his explanation. Gibbs just rolled his eyes and Abby took over for him. "He's a Jedi."  
  
Scythe snorted. "Seriously?"  
  
"That's the best way any of us can think to describe it. He's fast, but not super fast, and strong, but not super strong. Just enough that it makes him a little better than almost everybody else. Well, that and he's a pre-cog. That might be where the Jedi stuff comes from."  
  
"What?" Scythe demanded in shock, and this time Gibbs smirked at him. "You filthy little cheater." Abby seemed taken aback by the comment, but Gibbs just grinned that after all their fights, Scythe hadn't figured out that element to his power. "Seriously man, that's just cheap!"  
  
"All's fair in love and war, Scythe."  
  
Scythe smirked. "Is that what Red thinks?"  
  
Gibbs’ friends stiffened at the comment, prepared for him to lose his temper. But instead, Gibbs slouched down in his chair and grumbled. "She didn't use to be this bad.”

“Regular sex tends to put people in a good mood.” Scythe poked.    
  
Jethro grunted in a way that meant he was absolutely done having this conversation, and the rest of the room was smart enough to let him get away with it. Before Scythe could take his life into his own hands and comment again, the door to the room swung open, then snicked shut, all without someone coming in. Or so it looked. Scythe hadn’t lived quite this long by being as stupid as he looked. He dove out of his chair into a role, getting out of the way just in time for Ziva’s fist to collide with the place where his face had been a moment before. Her invisibility rippled with the impact, and Scythe kicked out to catch her in the knee, but she jumped out of the way.

Scythe had known Ziva and her situational invisibility briefly in the few weeks she'd been with the Brotherhood before she shifted her allegiance to the X-Men. Gibbs’ shout held her in place before she came for him again. She rested on the balls of her feet and gave Scythe a long stare, measuring the rumors she'd heard about one of Magneto's favorites against the kind words that Abby had been telling everyone. "Why would he send you?"  
  
Scythe shifted back to his feet and met her nose to nose. "Because the only other two people he actually trusts would never be allowed inside this building again."  
  
"And you should be?"  
  
Scythe jammed his hands in his pockets and gave the best of his faux-innocent grins. "I'm young enough that Xavier thinks he can still save me."  
  
"Is he wrong?"  
  
"I've learned that it's in bad taste to ridicule the guy whose house you're staying at, so I’m gonna keep my opinion about that to myself."  
  
"So you're happy being a hit man."  
  
Scythe's shoulders stiffened. "No denying what you're good at."  
  
Ziva straightened and had the gall to sneer at him. "The question is: is killing what you do, or is it who you are?"  
  
Scythe snorted. "You guys have mediation with the Professor, don't you? That's the only place to pick up crap like that.”  
  
"Meditation is only for those of us he feels could benefit from the practice." Ziva coolly replied.  
  
Abby laughed, as though she didn't actually sense the tension between them. "Most of us think meditation is actually the Professor's preferred form of discipline. He thinks detentions don't work and he feels dirty about putting us on power restriction, so he makes us sit and listen to fake thunderstorms and think about being one with the universe. I think the only person who gets out of it is Tim."  
  
Scythe took the comment for the out it was and asked, "Why is that?"  
  
Tim flushed and Abby nudged him until he replied. "Because I lose control of my powers."  
  
"Do you roast the speakers or something?" Scythe smirked.  
  
"No, the Professor tells me to focus on the sound and I always get distracted by the parts of the iPod he's using."  
  
"And then?" Abby insisted.  
  
Tim flushed crimson. "And then his iPod stars hopping from song to song to match wherever my thoughts go."  
  
Abby leaned over to stage whisper at Scythe. "Last time he was thinking about a girl and 'Sex Bomb' started to play." They both giggled and Abby finished, "It was hard to tell which one of them was more embarrassed."  
  
"Yes, thank you Abby." Tim interrupted. "Can we move on to something else now?"  
  
Abby grinned and turned all her attention to Scythe. "So, I think that covers all of us, what can you do?"  
  
Scythe gave a nervous grin. "Didn't you catch the fire show earlier?"  
  
"Oh come on, we all know one another's powers inside and out, we should get to learn all that about you too." Abby plopped her chin down on her upturned hands and gave him an expectant smile. Scythe liked this kid and figured he owed her for being a wall between him and Gibbs all day, so he raised a hand and called out a small globe of green-black fire. He extended his palm to Abby so she could see it properly and she reached out a finger to gently poke at the bulb. When it didn't burn, she ran her whole hand through the flame.  
  
"I take it that it's not just pretty, you can change the temperature?" Scythe nodded and did his best to ignore the spike of tension that came when Gibbs crossed the room to sample the fire as well.  
  
"What kind of control do you have?" Gibbs asked.  
  
"You mean more than being able to control the temperature of fire?" Scythe asked cheekily.  
  
"Yup," Gibbs grinned expectantly. Scythe set his jaw and the perfect ball of black flame piqued up, shifting into the bulb of a flower. He let the bulb bloom, shedding its fiery petals one by one. Soon Scythe collapsed the flame in on itself and the fire dripped from his palm like water. He waited a moment until the embers made a steady stream down to the floor where they vanished into a pool of smoke, then pulled his hand away, pausing the licks of fire mid-drop. Abby actually gasped at that one, and then Scythe flicked his wrist and the fire vanished.  
  
"Wow," Abby breathed.  
  
Ducky moved in for a closer look and an examination of Scythe's hand with his own powers. "My dear boy, that was incredible."  
  
Abby and Tim nodded their agreement while Ziva gave him a speculative look and Scythe had to say, "See, not that bad."  
  
"We're all as bad as we choose to be." Gibbs said, and left it at that.  



	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs put Scythe up for the night on a spare cot two of the younger students rolled into his room. It seemed that almost student bunked with at least one roommate, though if your powers were volatile or especially dangerous you got a room to yourself. (Since Gibbs’ powers were neither of those things, he thought seniority might have something to do with it too.)

Gibbs’ room was exactly what Scythe had expected, right down to the hospital corners on his sheets. Most of the furniture was the composed but durable sort that was best for a mansion filled with reckless mutant students, but other pieces were too homegrown to have come with the room. Jethro's bed frame was lovingly crafted to suit the space, but still managed to look like it came from somewhere a little homier than the manor.  
  
The part of Scythe that had been forged by Magneto told him to be subtler in his snooping, but his natural curiosity (especially as pertained to all things Gibbs) refused to be subdued. Scythe gave himself his own little tour of the room, noting that Gibbs’ desk seemed to be made with the same love and care as his bed frame. He had pictures scattered around, mostly of his friends (the ones in dramatic silver frames he knew Abby had been in charge of, while the ones in simple wooden frames were no doubt Ducky's doing). Some of the frames though, they held the image of an older couple: a man with bright eyes the same white-blue as Jethro, and a woman who looked unflinchingly gentle.  
  
It wasn't until his nose was nearly pressed up against the glass that Scythe realized he was staring at photo of Jethro's parents, and despite all his good behavior today, he was probably about to get killed for the offense.  
  
Gibbs stepped up behind him and Scythe tensed, fighting the instinct to attack when he probably deserved to get thrashed for what he'd done. Jethro reached around Scythe’s shoulder and tapped on the frame's edge, right beside the man, "Jackson," Gibbs tapped on the frame’s other side, "Ann."  
  
Scythe gulped at the warm press of Gibbs along the line of his back, even though the other boy was only there for a moment. "They look happy," he offered.  
  
"They are." Gibbs paused, debating with himself the merits of saying more, but Scythe looking at him with curious—but not invasive—eyes prodded him to continue. "Thanks to Duck."  
  
Scythe turned fully to face him and Gibbs took a moment to appreciate that he had Scythe nearly pressed up against the wall with nowhere to go. "What? How?"  
  
Gibbs got control of himself took a step back and waived Scythe to a seat. "I came to the school when I was twelve and I met Duck on my first day. I'd manifested a few years before, but my parents were able to handle it until..."  
  
"Until you turned into a precog?" Scythe asked gently.  
  
Jethro dropped down into a chair of his own and grunted, "Yeah. I came to the institute and Duck walked up to me the first day to tell me all about my synaptic pathways."  
  
Scythe laughed at the mental image of a pre-teen Ducky rambling like a medical professional and Jethro continued. "When it came time to go home for a visit, I brought Ducky with me. He didn't tell me about it then, but he felt something wrong with my mom. He came home and tried to explain to Beast what he'd felt, and the two of them ended up trying to figure out what was going on."  
  
"I bet they had flow charts while they went from hospital to hospital just shaking people's hands."  
  
Gibbs gave a small quirk of a smile and Scythe counted that as a win. "They actually passed it off as a research project, trying to build up a knowledge base for Ducky so there would be less research when he was trying to diagnose." Jethro smirked. "Word got out to doctors about Ducky's little project and there are still diagnosticians who call him out on consults, or to show him something new." Scythe settled back in his chair, letting Jethro veer off topic because he knew that Gibbs would get back there eventually. "There's this one diagnostician in New Jersey who I think tracks down strange cases just so he can poke at Ducky."  
  
"You go with him on this hospital jaunts, don't you?" Scythe grinned.  
  
"I used to go on all of them, but now I only go when I'm not on assignment. He got himself abducted by a woman who thought he was to blame for her son getting sick, and after that the Professor stopped letting him go anywhere alone."  
  
Jethro paused, and Scythe let the silence stretch, knowing he was building up the momentum to talk about his mother. "Eventually Duck and Doc McCoy realized she had cancer."  
  
"He'd never touched anyone with cancer before?"  
  
"Duck says that each kind feels different, and then there's differences based on where in the body the mass is located. All that took them a while to figure out."  
  
Jethro trailed off and Scythe prodded, "Did Ducky catch it in time?"  
  
Gibbs smiled at that, "Yeah, he did. It was barely there, something that didn't show up on any of the scans, and that the doctors said they probably wouldn't have caught until it was too late."  
  
"But Ducky did."  
  
"He saved her."  
  
Scythe had the foreign urge to reach out and tell Jethro he was glad that Gibbs still had his mother, but that would have led to a reciprocal conversation that he wasn't quite ready to have. Gibbs watched Scythe struggle with himself and let the moment pass. Jethro stood and pulled out spare sheets for Scythe's cot, letting the other boy regroup instead of pressuring him into saying something he wasn't ready for. Somewhere in the course of the day Jethro had decided that he trusted Scythe, and even liked him a little, and that meant he could give Scythe time.

XXXXX

"You want me to what?" Scythe stuttered out over breakfast the next morning.  
   
Xavier gave Scythe a small smile and the young mutant could finally understand what about the wheelchair-bound man made Magneto want to punch him in the face. "You will get bored if you spend your days roaming around the manor with nothing to do, so I thought you'd enjoy yourself more if you participated in some of the classes."  
   
"I'm not a student here, Xavier."  
   
"No, at the present moment you are an honorary X-Man, and X-Men participate in the mutant community here."  
   
Scythe lined up a list of arguments in his head, starting with the fact that he was  _no_  X-Man, then he caught sight of the stern set to Xavier's jaw and the careful way most of the other students were watching him. Scythe let the irritation slip away and with a polite nod he replied. "Sure, Professor, if that's what you'd like, I'd be happy to be part of your little community. Since I'm here anyway."  
   
Xavier knew exactly what had gone through Scythe's mind and he nodded his approval. "Excellent. I have a full class schedule here for you to choose from, or if you'd prefer you can accompany one of your friends instead."  
   
Scythe gave Xavier a bright and utterly fake smile over the kitchen table, then turned to Abby and asked, "What's our first class, Abs?"  
   
The girl grinned, "Mechanics with Wolverine."  
   
"Seriously?" He grinned, happy that it wasn't something like ethics or psychology.  
   
"Yup. Wolverine is all about practical life skills. I've got him for mechanics this morning and then at the end of the week I've got him in the Danger Room."  
   
Scythe smiled for a moment before he pulled himself back and turned to the Professor to ask whether or not he'd actually be allowed in the basement with the Danger Room and the rest of the X-Men's sensitive information. Xavier knew the question before Scythe got the words out and said, "I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself in the session, my dear boy. Despite my best efforts, the Danger Room practice sessions still seem to be the student body's favorite class."  
   
Wolverine roamed over from the fridge and interrupted, "Because it's the only chance the kids have to let their powers go rather than keeping them pent up all the time."  
   
"Why Logan," Xavier announced. "That was rather contemplative of you."  
   
Wolverine snorted and muttered to himself. "I had dogs that were the same way."


	5. Chapter 5

Scythe followed Abby from class to class (provided that she wasn’t going to science) and on his third day at the school he actually roamed into a history class all by himself. Half the room watched him like they thought he might explode at any moment, while the other half shifted away like he carried the plague, but no one tried to hurt him so Scythe considered that a win. He knew that despite Abby's support, the rest of the school was just waiting for Gibbs to make a move.

When people were watching, Jethro treated Scythe with same aloof politeness he used on anyone who wasn’t Abby or Ducky. But then, when Scythe was alone with Gibbs and his little circle of close friends, the stoic mutant would give a twitch of a smile, or some other little sign that made Scythe think Gibbs didn't hate him quite like he used to. Scythe started to have the ridiculous idea that just maybe he might actually have an easy go of it.   
   
Of course, all that progress went to hell the moment Volt went to use his powers and nothing happened.  
   
Volt was a semi-powerful student with a gift for twisting electricity and a flare for drama to use them whenever he could. He, along with a few of the older students, had been out back at the fire pit. (And no, Scythe couldn’t quite imagine the conversation that led to Charles Francis Xavier agreeing to have a barbecue pit put in his pristine, British gardens.) Rather than use matches like someone with common sense, Volt tried to drop a small ball of lightning on the logs to get them started. But when he stretched out his hand, nothing happened. Gibbs' redhead may have annoyed Scythe, but she was clever, and about two seconds into Volt's panic attack at not being able to use his powers, she assumed Scythe had something to do with it.  
   
While all this panic was going on in the backyard, Scythe was safely tucked away in the small library where Gibbs' friends spent most of their free time. He and Abby had been in the middle of indulging McGee’s lecture on the value of _Lord of the Rings_ to mutant culture, when the library door blew off its hinges.

A lifetime of training had Gibbs toss Ducky behind the sofa while he kicked the coffee table onto its side so he could drag Abs and McGee behind it. With Gibbs on defense, Scythe called up fire and charged to meet the threat. He chose not to think too hard about what it meant that when Abby called "Stop!" he listened to her, rather than to his instincts.  
   
Jenny was at the door, pissed as all hell, and she had half a dozen of the senior students standing behind her. "Volt doesn't have his powers anymore," she hissed. "What the hell did you do?"  
   
Scythe raised a mocking eyebrow. "Well let's see. This morning I got out of bed, then I played with Gibbs for a while-"  
   
Jen's cheeks flamed as red as her hair at the innuendo. She shouted, "What did you do to Volt!"  
   
Scythe leaned over the table that Abby and Tim had been forced behind and stage whispered, "Which one is that?"  
   
Abby giggled and whispered back, "He's the one with spiky black hair, the quirky laugh, and the dog collar. Real name's Mikel."  
   
"Ahhh." Scythe turned back to Jen and her little hoard of students. "Why would I hurt him? He'd totally fit in with the Brotherhood. We like alternative lifestyles."  
   
Jen hissed and another blast of air came careening at him, but before it could connect Gibbs used a burst of his speed and took Jen gently down to the floor, sending her strike off course. One of the students gasped, and the others couldn’t seem to believe that Gibbs had gone out of his way to protect the boy from the Brotherhood.  
   
Jen struggled against Jethro for a moment but stilled quickly, and Scythe tried to ignore the way Jen's breath caught at the familiar pressure of Jethro's body on top of hers. "Jen, what's going on?" Gibbs asked, his calm tone belying the fact that he was restraining her.  
   
"Volt's powers are gone, Jethro!"  
   
Gibbs puffed out a breath and pulled back, tugging Jen to her feet but taking care to keep himself between her and her target. "Scythe didn't have anything to do with that. It's a problem that's been affecting mutants all over the east coast, and Magneto brought it to our attention. Scythe is here to help us investigate it and to offer his skills should we need them."  
   
"We don't need an assassin!" Jen spat, and the students behind her gave a murmur of assent.  
   
"He's not like that!" Abby popped up from the safety of her cover.  
   
Ziva stepped out from behind Jen and stretched a conciliatory hand out to Abby, trying calm her. "You don't  _know_  him, Abby."  
   
Abby grasped Ziva by her hands and pulled her close, pleading. "Neither do you. He's not who you think he is, Ziver."  
   
"Abby, I know who he was just  _a week ago_!"  
   
"A week ago isn't now!"  
   
"Stop this!" Jen shouted, cutting through the argument. "Abby, I know you think you've got him all figured out, but there's something  _wrong_ with him."  
   
Abby scoffed. "You think that just because he's Brotherhood he can't be trusted. You don't care about anything else!"  
   
"That’s not what I’m talking—”   
   
Scythe snorted, and Jen stopped mid-word to glare at him. "What, Red? That's all it comes down to, isn't it?"  
   
Ziva interrupted before Jenny shouted herself right off the high ground. I know what you've done in service to the Brotherhood, Scythe. You're one of Magneto's lieutenants, and his heir. Whoever you're pretending to be while you're at this school doesn't change that when you leave you're going still be his man."  
   
"That was your problem, David. You never understood what we're trying to do!"  
   
"What, take over the world?"  
   
"No, we look after our people. Not just the strong ones. Not just the ones who shut up and fall in line. Every. last. mutant. on the planet is who we take care of, even you."   
   
Scythe didn't realize that he'd lost control of his power until Gibbs put a firm hand on his shoulder and murmured, "Take a breath." Scythe looked to Gibbs and realized that he had black flame burning over the flesh of his arms. Flame that Gibbs didn’t seem to mind touching. Which was another thing that Scythe pushed aside to worry about later.

He turned and walked to the other side of the room, putting as much distance between him at the mob as possible. Gibbs faced down Jen and she turned her big, pleading eyes on him. "Jethro you don't understand."  
   
"Then make me understand."  
   
Jen reached back into the growing bundle of students clustered behind her and pulled out a girl that Scythe recognized from the last few days as Cait. The girl cast an apologetic look at Abby before she said, "I can't feel him, Gibbs. It's like he's not even there."  
   
Abby paled and with a hint of desperation replied, "Maybe he's just blocking you, Cait."  
   
"Abs," Cait said gently, "you know that's not possible. Not ever Xavier can block me."  
   
"Someone wanna tell me what in the hell you're talking about?" Scythe interrupted.  
   
Gibbs looked to him with an expression too even to be anything but stunned. "Cait's a reader. She can look at a person and tell you about their personality, like a profiler."  
   
Scythe gave a half-desperate grin, trying to brush the whole thing off. "And because I've got shields she can't see through there's something wrong with me?"  
   
"It's not a matter of shields, or hiding," Cait interjected. "Either you're there and you've got a soul for me to read, or you don't. The only people I've never gotten a read on have been dead."  
   
"Well obviously I'm not dead." Scythe snapped.  
   
"No," Jen interrupted, "you just don't have a soul."  
   
Scythe flinched at the words, which was all the sign Jen needed that this was an argument he'd had with himself before. Jen sneered at him, and Scythe was ready to call fire to his hands and burn his way out of the building, when Jethro stepped between them. "You're full of it Jenny, and if you come after one of my friends again, we're gonna have a problem."  
   
Gibbs grabbed Scythe by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him out of the room. Jenny knew to get out of Jethro's way, but the students on the far side of the door were all too stunned to move. Jethro stared at the boy directly in his path and Gibbs pupils blew wide as he exercised his power and saw a few moments into the future. He leaned into the boy's space and muttered under his breath, "Don't do it. You think you can get past me and do something stupid and I'm not gonna let you."  
   
"Gibbs-"  
   
"No. Take a step back and let us out. If you set a finger on him then I'll end you."  
   
"Jethro!" Jenny interrupted, but Abby smirked at her as she walked past. "Let it go, Red. You lost this round." Abby bounded after them and took up her place on Scythe’s other side. Ducky and Tim followed them out, with Ducky as the purveyor of common sense to hold the two younger members of the party back so Gibbs and Scythe could go speak with Xavier.  
   
They made their way through the halls and down the main stairs to ground floor where the Professor had his office, both of them ignoring the way that rapid fire whispers about what Gibbs had just done followed after them. Scythe stopped outside Xavier's door, freezing with his hand on the doorknob before he turned to Jethro.  
   
Scythe cleared his throat and stretched out his hand. "Tony. My name is Tony."  
   
Jethro stared down at the hand in front of him before he gave a grin so bright it put Scythe’s own to shame. He took Tony's hand, holding on just long enough that the other boy got the sense of strength and calluses that Gibbs got from woodworking with his father and he replied, "and I'm Jethro." They stared at one another for a long moment, only to be interrupted by Xavier's door swinging open to reveal the man himself.  
   
The benefit of working with a telepath of Xavier's caliber meant that he knew from the moment the thought crossed their minds that they both were on their way to his office, and more importantly, he knew they were about to do something that would embarrass them to have happen in the middle of a hallway. Xavier gave them both a devious smile and said, "You handled yourself well, Jethro."  
   
Gibbs blushed and chose to interpret that as Xavier being pleased with defending Tony earlier, not his restraint in not pushing the other boy against the door and kissing him. "Thank you, Sir. Where's Volt?"  
   
"He's downstairs in medical getting a full physical with Dr. McCoy."  
   
Tony stepped out of the way of Xavier's wheelchair and followed after the man as he made his way to the elevator. "Are you going to scan him?"  
   
Xavier raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that that would be a gross violation of his privacy?"  
   
Tony just snorted. "Don't pretend that you're not good enough to go through him without touching anything personal."  
   
"True. However, Volt has had his mind violated by someone else, and for me to completely trace their connection I would have to violate him again, and no matter how gentle I am with him, his mind will know what has been done to it and may never recover from the second assault."  
   
"So we'll be questioning him instead?" Gibbs asked in a tone that meant he wasn't really asking so much as telling Xavier that he was going to be doing the questioning.  
   
Xavier favored Gibbs with a small smile and replied, "Cyclops and Wolverine are already in the infirmary asking questions. They're aware that we intend to join them."  
   
Tony hopped into the elevator and Xavier interrupted, "You should be aware that Storm and Jean are there fretting over the boy as well."  
   
Tony puckered his nose and muttered, "Oh damn, they're gonna try and kill me."  
   
"That is a legitimate concern.”


	6. Chapter 6

Tucked away in one of the infirmary beds, Volt was moaning. Since he had Jean Grey beside him, pressing his face into her not unimpressive cleavage, Tony couldn’t really blame him for pretending to be more traumatized than he actually was. At the food of Volt’s bed, Storm was scolding Cyclops and Wolverine for “traumatizing the poor boy” when he'd “already been through enough.” For such clever women they seemed more than willing to ignore common sense in favor of assuming the worst. Tony couldn't stop his smirk, which happened to be at exactly the wrong moment for Jean to turn around and catch him smiling. "What are you doing here?"  
   
Jethro stepped in between then and took over the conversation. "You've been briefed on the situation Professor Grey, you know why he's here."  
   
Gibbs turned his attention to Volt, who flashed a look up to Grey before he decided it was in his best interest to stop pretending before Gibbs gave him something to actually whine about. "You know what happened to me?"  
   
Jethro reached behind him and grabbed Tony by the scruff of his t-shirt to haul him into explaining range. (Tony didn’t comment, but he was more than a little grateful that Gibbs kept his bulk between Tony and Jean Grey. Tony was a fighter, but he wasn’t stupid.) Without shrugging off Gibbs’ hand he replied, "There's a psychic vampire running around who liked to drain their victims of energy."  
   
Volt paled and slumped boneless into Jean’s arms. "So, I'm gonna die?"  
   
The boy looked legitimately terrified, and Tony raised his hands to back the kid off before he started crying. "Whoa, calm down, you're gonna be fine. Living things are always generating new life, so whatever a psychic vampire takes from you you'll eventually grow back on your own. You dying isn’t really an issue. The problem is that whoever this mutant is, they have enough control over their power that they set up a tether to their victims, so they can drain smaller chunks over a greater span of time."  
   
"So, let me get this straight. There’s a vampire roaming around my head and draining my life away?"  
   
Tony paused, waiting for the kid to use this chance to snuggle up with Grey, but he sat there like he was completely serious. Tony dropped his jaw and turned to Gibbs. "What are they teaching you about our people?"  
  
Grey squawked and Tony could feel a lecture coming on, but Cyclops’ sigh cut through everything. "We teach in broad brush strokes, Scythe. Should a student decide to join the X-Men then their training gets a little more intensive." Wolverine and Tony caught one another’s eyes and shared a snort at the stupidity of that plan.

He turned back to Volt and restrained the desire to call the kid an idiot. "No they’re draining your whole life away. If they kill you by draining you dry then there's nothing else for them to take, and since they went to a hell of a lot of trouble to set up something where you could be a constant source of energy, it would defeat the purpose to just kill you."  
   
"So… I'm _not_ gonna die."  
   
"Well-" Tony started, then Gibbs elbowed him in the ribs. "Nope. No dying here."  
   
With his gift for atrocious timing Gibbs waited until Volt heaved a sigh of relief before he pointed out, "But we need you to explain to us how this happened. Are you missing any time? Like a blackout that you can’t explain?"  
   
Volt flinched and side-eyed the professors while scrambled for a way to answer that question without answering it. Wolverine just grumbled, "Out with it kid, we're not gonna get you in trouble for it."  
   
"See, there was this concert in the city..." Volt trailed off with a blush and Tony picked up the story with a commiserating grin. "And there was this hot girl?"  
   
"Totally!” Volt turned his attention to Tony, completely ignoring that not an hour ago he had been devoted to Jenny’s cause of kicking Tony out of the school. “She was this deluxe, Goth goddess, and dude, she paid attention to  _me_. Me!"  
   
"How nice for you." Gibbs interjected in a deadpan sneer.  
   
"Hey man, she was smokin' hot!"  
   
"And then what happened?" Tony asked before Gibbs could mock Volt any more.  
   
"She kissed me," Volt replied with an almost euphoric smile.  
   
"And then?"  
   
Volt fidgeted a moment before he muttered, "I woke up in an alleyway." Gibbs rolled his eyes but held his tongue at the gentle way Jean rubbed Volt’s back, murmuring, “you poor thing.”  
   
Tony stomped on Jethro’s foot before he had the chance to scoff and make things worse. "Do you remember what she looked like?" Volt nodded, but before he could stammer out some description filled with hyperbole and disturbing adjectives, Tony gave the Professor a pointed look. Xavier had been watching the whole conversation play out with a soft smile, and if the man let things go on, Gibbs was going to end up smacking someone. Xavier quirked his eyebrow in acceptance and plucked the image from Volt's head, sharing it with the rest of the group.  
   
Tony had to admit, the woman  _was_  hot, albeit in a creepy sort of way. She had sharp features and thick black hair and a skin-tight leather suit that left little to the imagination. "You should share that image with Magneto and let him spread the warning around," Tony said. The women looked like they wanted to protest, but Cyclops shook his head no, and surprisingly enough, they left the matter be.  
   
"I'll be having quite the conversation with Erik after this, I assure you."  
   
Tony expected Gibbs to mutter something disparaging about Xavier calling his arch-nemesis by the first name, but Gibbs just pursed his lips like something suddenly made sense. He pushed aside his revelation and got back on task. "Are we going to Volt’s club to look for the vampire?" Gibbs asked.

Xavier took a long moment to respond, watching the pair of them standing side by side. He accepted the flash of pain for the useless longing that it was and pressed on, "Now that we have her image I need to see if Erik has any idea of who she is, or if one of his allies might know. If that's the case then there might be a less reckless method of retrieving her than storming a nightclub packed with humans."  
   
Tony raised an eyebrow, but kept his opinions on being worried about protecting humans to himself.  
 

#######

   
Tony spent the next morning in class repairing a vintage Thunderbird alongside Abby, who didn't so much repair the car as bounce along to the radio and tell Tony when things in the engine weren't vibrating right. The students still skirted around him in the halls, though he’d made significant progress with the professors. Storm had come around once the gossip mill told her about Jethro's show of protection, but Jean Grey still followed him with suspicious eyes.

Before he knew it mechanics was done for the day and Abby was announcing that it was time for their afternoon session in the Danger Room. She wrapped her arm through him and ignored how he dug in his heels to stay with the car. "Come on, we can't miss class! The last time I was late Wolverine made me run sprints. It was  _awful_." Tony laughed and let himself be pulled along with the others. Along the way they picked up Tim, who let Abby wrap her other arm around his waist and pull him into their little group, all of them ignoring the scandalized looks being sent their way.  
   
They made it to the basement with no trouble, though Tony wasn't quite sure what kind of complication he'd been expecting. Abby escorted Tony to the spare uniform closet while everyone else shuffled in to the locker rooms to get ready. Abby tapped on the closet’s doorframe, letting the faint burst of sound echo through the room and against the suits, letting her find something that sounded like it might fit Tony. The Brotherhood didn't have uniforms, their membership changed too often for such a thing, and all of them usually just dashed headlong into fights in their street clothes. Tony had tried to beg off wearing an X-Man uniform for the Danger Room session, but Wolverine had merely quirked an eyebrow while Abby had been more vocal about her insistence. (Tony was pretty sure that she really just wanted to see him in tight leather.)  
   
Abby had given Tony a two-fingered tap to his chest to get a feel for his shape before she turned and tapped on the door, sending the sound out to find something that would come close to matching him. Abby tilted her head to the side in confusion before she tapped on the frame once again. She stepped into the closet to shift aside some suits and started to giggle.  
   
"What?" Tony asked, trying to sound nonchalant despite the fact that most of the upperclassmen were all emerging from the locker room in their uniforms and Tony had to suppress his instinctual urge to fight with them.  
   
Abby smirked. "Sometimes the Professor just blows my mind."  
   
Tony quirked an eyebrow in question, but Abby tugged a piece of paper off the suit she was staring at and handed it to him in answer.

 

_Scythe,_  
   
 _The Professor thought that you might like a uniform of your own for your time here and had me create one to your specifications. Given his instructions and what I've observed of your powers I do believe this one will suit you well. However, should you find something amiss, let me know and I'll make the necessary modifications. I'd hate for my presumptiveness to be the reason a suit should fail one of my friends in a time of crisis._  
   
 _-Ducky_  
   
 _P.S. I don't know why the Professor insisted I leave your suit in the closet rather than placing it with the rest of the uniforms, but he's usually right about these sorts of things, so I thought it best not to question him. However, if you should happen across the reason, I would very much like to be told it._

  
   
Abby laughed at Tony's widening eyes as he read through the note. "So why wasn't it with everyone else's?"  
   
Tony kept staring at the note, thinking that the words would reform themselves into something he'd understand as he muttered, "Because I would've freaked out."  
   
The suit before him was made of the black material that formed the base of every other X-Man's uniform, specially made to involve no metal (a fact that brought Magneto no little pride). It was designed to be in multiple pieces of a t-shirt, jacket, and pants, rather than the unitard that most everyone else was wearing, a nod to his preference for normal clothes. The jacket was a separate piece, cut so the sleeves stopped at his shoulders giving him room to let fire roam up and down his arms unimpeded. The only color to the uniform was found in two blood red stripes that cut across the left side of the chest.  
   
Abby gave him barely any time at all to soak in an impression of the uniform before she pulled it off the hanger and thrust it into Tony's hands. "Go on, try it on!"  
   
In his shock Tony went to pull his shirt off and Abby laughed, "Not in here, you nerd. Go to the locker room and try it on there."  
   
"But Abs..."  
   
"Come on, Tony!" she cajoles, careful to only use his birth name when there was no one else around to listen. He had to hand it to her, she picked exceptionally good times to use it. Tony stifled his complaints about looking like an X-Man, even for a moment, and all but ran through the hall where most of the students were waiting, avoiding their baffled stares as he went past with a uniform in his hands. He ducked around a corner in the locker room and did his best not to look at himself in the mirror as he got dressed. 

One or two of the girls liked to fuss with their hair before they entered the Danger Room, which was the only reason Tony wasn't the last one ready when he stumbled out and took his place in between Tim and Abby. He tried to be subtle about it, but Abby squealed and tossed her arms around him, telling him how good he looked. Tony flushed and gave her an awkward hug back, trying not to see how the others were staring at him. He caught Jethro's eyes and the flush only deepened when he realized that the other mutant was clad in a tight uniform that clung to his every line and made him look like a dirty recruitment poster for Xavier's team.  
   
Wolverine came down the hall and started snapping orders, interrupting Tony’s train of thought before things got inappropriate in his own tight trousers. "Alright, we're doing teams today. I'll be up on the monitors, so when I say a shot's taken you out, go sit on the bench at the side of the room, and wait around for me to yell at you when everything’s done." Gibbs, Abby, and Tim (Gunner, Echo, and Binary respectively) were on a team with Volt and Cait (who seemed to shun chosen names like Ducky did). Much to Tony's chagrin, he was stuck on a different team with a bunch of students he had seen around the school but didn't know, along with Jenny (who he was pleased to note didn't have a mutant name), and Ziva (who still retained Malakh, the Hebrew name her father gave her).  
   
"I don't want him on my team." Jen announced before Wolverine even finished the last word.  
   
"That's great," Abby declared, "because  _we_  want him on ours."  
   
"And when did you all start thinking that you get to pick your teams?" Wolverine growled. Jen tried to snap something back but Wolverine interrupted, "Gunner and Scythe can't be on the same team, the rest of you would get your clocks cleaned. So suck it up and deal with the team I gave you."  
   
Even Jen, despite her flaws, knew better than to argue with Wolverine and that tone of voice. She stomped past Gibbs and into the Danger Room, with all her fellows trailing behind. Tony clenched his jaw and tried not to sigh as Abby sent him an apologetic smile. He stepped into the room to find Jen's finger stuck in his face. "You will. not. lose this for us, alright?"  
   
Tony held up his hands in deference and replied, "You don't survive long in the Brotherhood unless you're good in a fight, Red."  
   
"Don't call me that!" She hissed through clenched teeth. She certainly would've complained more, but the other team strode into the room and Jen stormed off to their starting side of the battlefield. Tony fixed Jethro with a glare that screamed, 'Were you out of your mind?'  
   
Jethro just rolled his eyes and gave Tony a smirk that meant he could mock Gibbs all he wanted for his taste in women, but Jethro was still gonna kick his ass. Tony replied with a smug grin of his own and joined the rest of his team on the far side of the field. Wolverine locked the door behind the last of the students and both teams took the few minutes he'd spend walking up to the control room to make a plan. Jen seemed like a decent strategist, setting up Scythe and a small mutant named Anole to take the left flank, and two others to take the right, while she and Ziva took the center.  
   
Tony tried not to get frustrated as his team moved into position before Wolverine even started the exercise, broadcasting to the other team what they planned to do. Scythe looked to his partner and took in the sight of the green, skinny little thing who couldn't possibly be older than sixteen and beat back the part of him trained by Magneto who would say that if the kid couldn't protect himself then he wasn't worth saving anyway. The X-Men probably wouldn't take kindly to that viewpoint, and after a morning with Abby and cars, Scythe was in the mood to do right by them.  
   
Tony stepped over to the boy and asked, "So what's your name?"  
   
The kid jumped at the attention and Tony did his best not to be irritated that he looked like Scythe might be about to eat him. "M-My name's Victor."  
   
"No, kid. What's your  _real_  name,"  
   
The kid flushed a charming green cross his scaly cheeks and replied, "Anole."  
   
Tony grinned at him and stuck out his hand, "I'm Scythe." The boy slowly held out his hand to shake as well, and flushed when Tony inspected the green scales covering his skin. Tony shifted his eyes up to the spikes that ran down the center of the boy’s skull and the few that dotted along his shoulders, then when the boy started to get twitchy under the attention Scythe flashed him a dazzling smile and said, "Awesome." The boy grinned in reply and Tony asked, "Let me guess: speed, agility, reflexes, and.... wall crawling?"  
   
"Along with regeneration, camouflage, and, well..." Anole flicked out his long tongue and gave the slightest peck to the tip of Tony's nose.  
   
The boy looked terrified for half a second, like he'd gone too far, and then Tony laughed, bright and warm and echoing through the Danger Room. Almost everyone turned to see what the fuss was about and more then a few people gentled at the sight of Anole giggling right along with him.  
   
They were still laughing when the Danger Room engaged, sending columns of metal up around them and creating plains of uneven metal to disrupt their way. Anole looked ready to dash headlong around the corner and into the nothingness, but Tony grabbed him by the back of the shirt and tugged him another direction. "But we're supposed to be going after them." Anole argued.  
   
"And we will, but it’s stupid to attack without thinking."  
   
"How do you know that?"

Tony knew the boy was wondering how Tony could’ve gotten any practice without a Danger Room of his own, so he responded to the un-thought-of question. "There's a reason Magneto isn't dead yet. He's good at this sort of thing. And if you last, he teaches you too."  
   
The boy didn’t have much to say about that, but he did trust Tony to take the lead. Tony arranged to get Anole spotted by someone on Gibbs' team, and the two little idiots were so excited by the early sighting that they dashed after Anole without thinking about a trap. Anole led them around the corner and vaulted himself clear with his reptilian agility while Tony unleashed a rush of fire on the boys. Wolverine's voice cut through the ambient sounds of the Danger Room to shout at the idiots to get to the side of the room before they ran into another ambush. The fight went on like that for the next twenty minutes, the traps and scuffles broken only by the occasional shout from Wolverine.  
   
Eventually both the teams retreated to their own sides to regroup. Tony and Anole met with Ziva, who reported that the rest of their team had been taken down, while Gibbs still had Abby and Volt. "How's Abby still in?" Tony asked. "I didn't think her power was offensive."  
   
"It's not," Anole replied, "But Gibbs keeps her by his side, which makes her invincible."  
   
Tony snorted. "Yeah, that sounds about right."  
   
"I could touch you both and make you invisible with me while we attack?" Ziva suggested.  
   
"I'll lay odds that's the same plan Jen makes you use every time, and because she does it, everyone else has followed suit, right?"  
   
Tony tried to keep his tone teasing, but Ziva was having none of that. "They do it because it works."   
   
Tony grinned,. "Yeah, but other things could work too. And I bet you've got a whole list of plans stashed in the back of your mind of what you'd do if someone let you off your chain."  
   
Ziva cocked her head to the side and stared at him like he was some intriguing new piece of information she was trying to puzzle out. "You are going to run this like you are Magneto, aren't you?"  
   
Tony gave her a nearly feral grin in reply. "Only way I know how."  
   
Anole giggled when Ziva gave him a smirk with far too many teeth. "We may end up dead, but I supposed we will enjoy our way there." With that, Ziva flickered into invisibility to get into place for their plan. Anole ducked around a corner, trying to be subtle about wanting to get himself seen, while Tony followed after him, trying not be seen at all. Abby had spent the fight tapping on walls, sending out the subtlest of sound waves looking for people around corners or coming from above, and Tony was waiting for them to use that ploy again.  
   
Gibbs and his superior sight were leading the way for his part, with Abby in the middle to do the actual hunting, and Volt taking up the rear. Tony spread his two remaining team out across the room, making it look as though they were searching for Gibbs' team, and Anole was about to just 'stumble' upon them. Seeing Anole would make Gibbs think that Tony was the one running around invisible with Ziva. Abby would send out her sound waves to look through their invisibility, and that's when Tony has Ziva ready to strike.  
   
Everything went according Tony’s plan and when Gibbs spotted Anole darting around a corner Abby stretched out her hand to tap the nearest wall, and felt nothing in return. Tony had trailed behind Anole, waiting until the barest few moments before the other boy slipped into Gibbs’ sightline. Tony put his hand to one of the walls and stretched out his black fire to barely heat the molecules of the surface, letting the temperature change ripple through the connecting metal. The shift wouldn't be enough for anyone to feel the warmth, but the extra energy he was giving the surface of the walls would disrupt Abby's usual way of sensing things.  
   
Around the corner Abby pulled back from the wall and stared at it in confusion. She closed her eyes and actually smacked the wall this time, trying to find out why she couldn't sense anything, and Ziva tackled her out of nowhere. At Ziva's touch, the girls vanished into nothing, and Gibbs' desire to protect everyone made him turn to look for her, leaving him open for Tony to cut around behind them and sent twin fireballs at Jethro's and Volt's backs. Gibbs went down to the ground, the special protocols of the Danger Room keeping him from being charred by the fire, but Volt's own powers swallowed up the flame without any damage.  
   
Tony ducked behind the closest wall and Wolverine's voice came over the ear pieces they were all wearing, telling Gibbs to get himself to the bench. Then Wolverine asked, "Abby, since I’ve got no idea what you and Ziva are up to, I'm gonna guess you're dead."  
   
Abby's giggled came out of nothingness. "Definitely dead."  
   
Wolverine chuckled and sent her to the sidelines as well. Ziva stayed invisible, despite the unofficial timeouts that came with Wolverine's words, knowing that Volt was scoping out the area to do the most damage the moment the headsets clicked off. Gibbs tugged Abby to her feet and they two of them headed over to the rest of their waiting team, with a wink at Tony for his ploy.  
   
Wolverine stepped away from the mic to mutter something and then came back to announce, "Hold off for a minute, we've got something wrong—” a flash of static interrupted his words. “–should be fine, but—” and Wolverine’s voice cut out.  
   
Abby stopped walking and whipped around in a circle, looking for something that the rest of them couldn’t see. Her, "What in the hell?" was the only warning they had that something had gone wrong. Volt erupted in a blast of heat and light that sent them all to the careening to the ground. Ziva had the sense to dive around the corner the moment Abby spoke, so she was untouched by the wave, while Gibbs and his faster-than-normal reflexes latched on to Abby and pulled her away from getting hit directly. 

Tony scrambled to get behind one of the walls and Anole popped up beside him. "So, what just happened?"  
   
Another blast of heat went ripping past their hiding space and Tony muttered, "I'm pretty sure Volt just snapped."  
   
"Uh, but that's not supposed to happen,” Anole whispered. "The Danger Room has safety protocols that are supposed to stop our powers from damaging others, so Volt's electricity shouldn't be able to get this hot."  
   
Tony grabbed Anole by the uniform front and hauled him down a different pathway and away from Volt. Ziva appeared out of nowhere and took Tony by the hand to pull him and Anole invisibility, taking them safely back to the bench where the rest of the students were waiting. Gibbs was already there, directing the students in how to use their powers to help protect themselves or to keep the others calm. Abby was tapping the ground at a steady drumbeat, trying to break through the heat Volt was projecting to figure out what was going wrong, while Tim had his hands up against the door's electronic lock so they could have a conversation in ones and zeroes, and a boy named Hellion had a force field up around the clump of students. Ziva pulled back the invisibility and Hellion opened a small hole in the field to let them slip through.  
   
Tony took a quick look at all Gibbs was doing to arrange their defense and turned to Ziva. "Can make this shield invisible?"  
   
"We're standing by the door, Scythe!” Jen objected. “Invisible or not, he'll know where we are anyway."  
   
"Doesn't mean we have to make it easy on him." Gibbs interrupted. "Ziva, work with Hellion and see what you two can come up with." The girl nodded and left Tony to join with Gibbs in developing a strategy.  
   
"What in the hell is going on?" Tony asked  
   
"Thanks to his powers Tim's headset survived whatever happened to the rest of the system," Gibbs explained. "I’ve got it now, and as far as we can tell, the same time that Abs felt something go wrong with Volt's sound, Duck felt something go wrong too. Duck's better at that kind of thing and he says that whoever is in the Danger Room with us isn’t really Volt."  
   
Tony raised an eyebrow. "So, who's shooting fireballs at us then?"  
   
"Not fireballs," Abby corrected from her tapping spot. "Electrical energy transformed into concussive blasts of heat and light."  
   
"And that heat and light coalesces into a fireball?"  
   
Abby paused and gave him a strange look. "It's not supposed to. It's supposed to be hot energy, like, melting stuff levels of hot. And bright, with the occasional electric shock if he’s feeling frisky, but no fire. Unless his heat has set something else on fire."  
   
Tony turned to Anole and asked, "Did you see a fireball coming at us? 'Cause I saw a fireball."  
   
Anole nodded his vigorous agreement, and Gibbs tapped his borrowed ear piece. "Duck, tell 'em Volt is shooting fireballs." He paused as Ducky doubtless rambled about how that was impossible, then cut in, "Yeah Duck, but he is."  
   
Gibbs listened to Ducky's explanation for a moment before he turned to Tony and related, "There's someone else in Volt's head. Xavier’s guessing that they’ve been dormant, skulking around in the back of Volt’s mind until a few minutes ago when Abby, Ducky, and he caught the change. Xavier has no idea who the person is, but apparently it's someone with a gift for fire and it's spread to Volt."  
   
Tony groaned. "The psychic vampire. And your Professor can't shut him down?"  
   
"Whoever is in his head has engaged the Danger Room's block against the Professor."  
   
"Why in the hell—no wait," Tony threw up a hand. "I really don't want to know why you guys would need to block out Xavier. So the plan is to sit here hoping Hellion's shield holds until Tim gets the door open?"  
   
"First step of the plan anyway.”  
   
"We've got a problem." Tim interrupted. Gibbs and Tony turned to look at him  
with the same expectant look. "Well, it's… uh, the wiring in the door is all functioning properly and the signal is getting through with no interference—"  
   
"McGee!" Gibbs snapped and the boy stopped talking.  
   
"The, um, the door has been spelled shut, not a virus or a program."  
   
"And that means?"  
   
"I can't fix it."  
   
Gibbs bit back a sigh and tapped his radio to Ducky. "Add magician to the list of things you're using to figure out who's in Volt."  
   
"So we're up to fireballs, psychic vampire, and magic?" Tony asked. Gibbs nodded and Tony straightened his jacket and checked with Abby, "Concussive blasts of heat and light?"  
   
She nodded and Tony waived for Hellion to make a hole in the shield for him to go out.  
   
Gibbs grabbed his jacket and pulled him away from the shield. "Where in hell do you think you're going?"  
   
"Do you have any other elementals running around here?" Tony asked snidely.  
   
"Any what?"  
   
"Elementals. Mutants whose primary power is over the elements." No one replied. "One of the major classifications of mutants! Elementals, Changelings, Psychics, Physicals." When they all stared at him like they had no idea what he was talking about Tony snapped, "What in the hell do they teach you at this school?!"  
   
"History. Science.  _Math!_ "  
   
"What good are those? He's shooting fire at us, which means you either need someone who can stop the fire, or control the fire, I can do both."  
   
"Then we'll help you!"  
   
"Are you insane? You," he pointed to Gibbs, "Can fight, Ziva can turn invisible, and Anole is quick, but none of those will save you if he gets a blast off. Abby might eventually be able to do some sound thing to incapacitate him, but right now she's a liability."  
   
Abby squeaked in disagreement but Tony just said, "Sorry, Abs, but you know it's true." Abby glowered at him and Tony went on. "And everyone else here is a puppy who's never actually fought someone trying to kill them."  
   
Jen tried to object but Gibbs sent her a glower that had her shutting up. Abby grabbed Tony's hand and said, "I'm going with you."  
   
Tony sighed, "Look, I know I was a little harsh Abs, but—"  
   
"Shut up. I know I'm no good in a fight but I can find him for you, and we need whatever I hear from him to figure out how this happened and what's going on. You need me."  
   
Tony gave a put upon sigh, but tugged Abby out of the shield with him anyway. He darted and weaved through the pillars, trying to get some decent enough cover so they could run if Volt turned on them, but close enough that Abby could do her thing. Abby turned to look behind them to offer a sure smile to those left waiting, and she realized that Ziva and Hellion had pulled off making their shield invisible. Abby pointed out the change to Tony, murmuring, "We should play with your team more often, it leads to some pretty awesome stuff."  
   
Tony grinned at her, ready to tease something right back. Then his fire-sense screamed at him, and he smashed Abby to the ground as fireballs flew over their heads. "Holy shit!" Abby shouted. "Who shoots fireballs and takes over people?"  
   
"I have no idea," Tony muttered as fire arced overhead. "But they seem to want us char-grilled."  
   
The fire paused just long enough for Volt to taunt, "Come out, come out, wherever you are."  
   
Tony crept along the wall, keeping a hand on Abby to keep her firmly behind him. Another fireball zipped overhead, crashing into the path and sending shards of broken floor into the air. Tony tossed them both back and she muttered, "I'm a big enough person to admit that this was a bad idea."  
   
"Thanks for saying so. I'll be sure to mention it to Jethro when he's killing me for letting you come with me." Another fireball landed dangerously close and Tony just grabbed her hand and ran for a side alley that would lead them to the other side of the field. They made it halfway there when a fireball caught the corner they were aiming for and burst it into a rain of shrapnel.

Abby screamed and the sound of her shriek burst out before them, crashing like a wave into the oncoming fire. The wall of sound caught of the flames and thrust them all back the way they came. Abby just stared at the mess in shock while Tony’s more honed instincts pulled her out of her stupor and to safety.  
   
Their backs pressed against the wall, Tony managed to stumble out, "Well, that was new."  
   
Abby smirked, but her perky rejoinder was cut off by a blast of fire roaring over their heads. Tony wrapped himself around Abby and asked, "Anything else about your power you've found out in the last few minutes?"  
   
"You mean, can I suddenly put out fires?"  
   
The metal above them crackled from strain and chunks stared raining down. Tony nearly tossed Abby away from the block and she crawled behind another wall. "Yeah," Tony shouted, "something like that would be good."  
   
"Nah, but I can still do this!" Abby twisted around the wall as Volt sent another fire blast, shrieking the thunder of the blast back on him. The fireball collapsed under the sound wave, scattering the fire in a dozen different directions. Abby eep-ed then ducked back behind her wall, shrugging at Tony to say it had seemed like a good idea at the time.  
   
Volt’s voice broke through the rumbling aftermath. "There is no point in dragging this out, children. Come out now and save me the time and trouble of a fight we both know you'll lose."  
   
They both heard a vicious whisper of, "Like hell" before Jethro leapt out of nowhere and tackled Volt. Gibbs and the boy rolled end over end for a moment before Jethro had him secured in a choke hold. Volt shot a blast of fire past Jethro's temple, but Jethro had Volt occupied for just long enough that Ziva popped out of nowhere and wrapped a hand around Abby's wrist, pulling her into invisibility.

Before Ziva could get to Tony though, Volt tossed Jethro off with force he shouldn't have had. Volt rose from the ground with lithe grace that didn't suit his awkward teenage form and Tony could hear Ducky shouting over the headset, "Jethro, get out of there!"  
   
Gibbs dove away as a wave of black burst from the mutant. The force of the blow tossed them all to the ground. Ziva and Abby ran to shelter of their own while Tony tried to get to Gibbs. Volt turned his attention to Jethro, who was spread out on the ground before him like a mutant buffet. Volt slunk forward with a roll to his hips and crouched down. He ran a finger along Jethro's cheek and over the throbbing vein in his neck, pressing down on his pulse before trailing the fingertip between Jethro's collar bones. started to pull at his uniform.  
   
The moment Volt started to pull at Gibb’s uniform Scythe saw red, and lunged for Volt. Only, Volt stretched out a hand and sent Tony flying back the way he'd come. Scythe crashed onto the concrete and despite the blood dripping from his nose where he'd landed, he pushed himself to his feet. Jethro was still sprawled over the pavement even though the blast that knocked him off down shouldn't have kept him out this long.  
   
Tony met Volt's gaze across the courtyard and a voice slithered into his mind. Professor Xavier was polite when he went so far as to speak to your mind, but this voice was insidious, creeping in where it had no business being.  _Silly boy. You should know better than to tangle with your betters. If you'd come when I called I wouldn't have been forced to teach you a lesson._  
   
Volt opened his mouth with an obscene pop and hovered dangerously close to Jethro's parted lips. Then he breathed in. Pulsing blue tendrils of light crept out of Jethro and between Volt’s waiting teeth. Volt stopped sucking and licked in those last few bursts of light before he looked to Scythe again and said, "He's such a pretty boy, so vibrant. How many years do you think I could get from him?"  
   
"Why are you doing this?" Tony demanded.  
   
"Because you need to learn your place, little one. You've been hiding from me all this time and it's time you stop."  
   
"What are you talking about?"  
   
Volt laughed with an echo to his voice that wasn't his own, "Did you really think that Magneto handed you over to Xavier out of the goodness of his heart? One of the most dangerous mutants ever known to Earth was so scared of _you_ that he left you with his hated enemy to keep you on a leash."  
   
"That's not true!"  
   
"Oh you naive little thing. Did you honestly believe Magneto when he told you he thought you'd do some good here? Magneto hasn't cared about another creature's happiness since he came into his powers. Xavier has the power to keep you all locked up in your own mind and you're such a timid little thing that you let him."  
   
Tony snorted, trying to fake nonchalance. "I don't think  _timid_  has ever been used to describe me before."  
   
"But you are, little one. You're hiding underneath Xavier's skirt and I won't tolerate it anymore. It's time to be who you really are."  
   
"This  _is_ who I am."  
   
Volt smirked and the world shifted around Tony. One moment he was on his knees, struggling to find his feet, and the next he was eight years old again, standing in front of the corpse of his father.  
   
"Don't you remember, Scythe? How you killed him?" At the edges of his vision the world was dark, black mist locking him in to a memory for all the world to see. Anthony Dinozzo Sr. was in a crumpled pile on the floor, no blood, and no fear, just a peaceful expression, like he'd fallen asleep on his feet and simply dropped to the floor.  
   
A wisp of the black fog stretched out and licked at Tony's ear, whispering, "Do you remember what it was like, little one? To snuff out another person's life?"  
   
Tony stiffened and the memory rewound, back to the moment where tiny-Tony was in a pile of his own, blood dripping from the gash on his forehead as he reached out to scream, "No!" as Senior backhanded Tony's mother, Elizabeth, wrenching her neck at an odd angle and sending her unconscious to the floor. Senior was a huge, hulking man who often threw his weight around with his wife and child. They'd learned to take the violence quietly, because if they fought him then he'd drag it out, trying to break them.  
   
They'd both followed the same rule this time, assuming that Senior's rant about the mutant plague would wear thin, leaving Tony and his mother to piece themselves back together afterwards. But Aunt Mary had thrown a wrench in the pattern. She was a weak mutant, not anywhere near the strength of the militarized ones who Tony had come to know when he'd gone with Magneto. She was gifted with plants, which did her no good against Senior. She'd shoved him back when he'd started to smack them around, and as well-intentioned as her struggle was, it just sent Senior into a blinding rage. He'd picked up a vase off one of the hallway tables and brought it down on Mary's head, dropping her to the floor. He’d struck out at Tony then, until finally his gentle mother couldn't take it anymore and got between Senior and her baby boy.  
   
Tony could hear Elizabeth pleading with her husband to stop, and though Tony knew he was only wrapped up in a memory, the tears started to course down his face at the blinding pain that he couldn't fight what was coming.  
   
Senior still had that statute clenched in his fist (a lithe woman cradling a child to her chest, Tony still couldn't stomach the irony of that), and a slow sick smile spread over Senior's face. Elizabeth stood shaking in between the two of them, and in one swift movement Senior hefted the statue and struck Elizabeth across the temple, sending her to the ground in a rush of blood and crushed skull. Tony dove for her, gathering her up into his arms and sobbing when he realized she wasn't breathing anymore.  
   
Senior hadn't even flinched at the sight. He twisted his arm around, ready to strike out at Tony like he'd struck at his mother, and something in Tony snapped.  
   
Tony looked up at his father with eyes black as night and the man's expression went slack as he dropped to the floor.  
   
The black mist wound around Tony and whispered, "Have you told them, little one? Have you told them how you stopped your father's heart? How you killed him with barely a thought?"  
   
The memory melted away around him, exposing Tony to the all-too-knowing eyes of his friends and in a voice not his own Volt said, "Do they know that Magneto named you for the Angel of Death?"  
   
Tony stiffened at Abby's tiny gasp and couldn't bring himself to look at the others. "You've lived in fear of your own power for too long. It's time you learned acceptance."  
   
Scythe stuck out his chin and replied, ignoring the waiver in his own voice. "And what makes you think I'd learn that from you?"  
   
"You and I share control over death, little one. It obeys us both, and who better to learn from then someone who shares your gift?"  
   
Tony snorted. "You take people's minds, that's not the same at all."  
   
The smoky, feminine voice chuckled, using Volt's mouth. “You think I'm not bringing him death right this moment, little one? Everyone who feels my kiss is spiraling down to death so they can feed my life. It's just a matter of how long I want it to take."  
   
Tony gasped and stared at Jethro, who was still spread eagle on the ground, unmoving. "Yes, Scythe, him too."  
   
Tony charged forward and with a flick of Volt's wrist Tony went sailing back, landing hard on the concrete. As Tony tried to right himself Volt added, "Even if you could get to me, there's nothing you can do. He's in my thrall, little one. He'd stay down on this concrete and starve to death if I told him too. You wouldn't be able to interfere."  
   
"Why in the hell not!'  
   
Volt tutted."His will is trapped in his own mind, kept where I've got him bound. He's here for me to feast on and won't do anything without my say so. Watch." Volt called the fire to his hand, quickly dropping his palm to the center of Jethro's chest and singed the flesh.  
   
Tony started forward and Volt interrupted, "Tut, tut, tut, little one. You keep this up and I'll be forced to do permanent damage to him."  
   
Tony stopped and demanded, “What do you want?"  
   
"Haven't you been paying attention? I want  _you_  all snuggled up with me and ready to bear your powers when I call."  
   
"And why would I do that?"  
   
Volt pressed his hand onto Jethro's chest and at the sound of a sizzle, something feral that Scythe had thought was long since buried, snapped. Scythe stretched out his hand, but rather than end Volt, Volt's fire turned on him and seared the flesh of his own hand. "What did you-" Volt looked at Tony, and the words stuttered to a halt.  
   
Black-green fire started at Tony's hands and licked up his arms, bathing the whole of his forearms in balefire as he unleashed the full extent of his powers. Volt gaped as Scythe replied, "You know what I am, and still you thought you could beat me?"  
   
"I have been alive since before your race even existed, boy!" The woman snapped through Volt.  
   
"You said it yourself, I’m one of the strongest mutants to ever walk the earth and picked a boy to be the one you used to fight me? A boy who doesn't even know what side he's on? If you're going to pick this fight at least send Magneto, or Nova, someone who'll at least make me break a sweat."  
   
"You are—”  
   
"An Omega Level mutant who can kill people with a thought. Really, this would be like sending a human after Xavier and expecting the normal to win. You're an idiot."  
   
Volt moved to spit out something else foul, but Scythe beat him to the punch with his fire. The ropes of flame leapt from Tony's hands and wrapped around Volt, binding him with fire that held, but did not burn unless Tony willed it to. He strolled up to the struggling man and said, "Now this is much more civilized."  
   
Volt flailed in the grip and Tony taunted, "What? You don't know what to say now that you're forced to actually use your words?"  
   
Volt seized and the light began to drain from his eyes. Tony stepped closer and wrapped his arms around the thrashing mutant, demanding, "What are you doing?"  
   
The words came out stuttered and slow. "They are mine now, little one, and if you want them back you'll pry them out of my cold, dead hands."  
   
"That can be arranged."  
   
On the ground at Tony's feet Jethro started to seize as well, and Tony let Volt drop from his hands and his fire as he moved to Jethro.  
   
"You have to break the link!" Ducky screamed out through the headset. "She's using Volt to drain Jethro, either you find her and kill her now, or you have to break the link."  
   
At the edge of his awareness Tony heard Abby trying to work that out, her peaceful mind telling her that she had to misinterpreting Ducky, while Ziva twisted Abby, trying to get her to look away. Volt's body was too wracked with shakes to put up a fight, no matter the psychic impulses that the voice might be feeding him. Tony just stared at Volt, watching his mouth try to form the words she was demanding of him.  
   
Scythe called the black fire to his hand and placed his palm on Volt's chest, the same way Volt had done to Jethro. Rather than the sizzling of flesh, Tony's power was silent, working inside Volt and burning him painlessly, sure to severe any link that may be still binding Volt to Jethro. Volt tried to screech and wrench himself free, but she'd obviously done too much damage to him for Volt to speak properly. Scythe ended him quietly, and before the others could react Tony gently set Volt on the ground, and reached out a hand to touch Jethro to be sure he'd lived through the experience. He didn't even flinch when Jen dashed out from the force field and shoved him away from Jethro. "Get away from him!"  
   
Scythe stumbled to his feet and looked at the circle of students who he'd started to make his friends. Abby was next to Jethro, trying to bring him around, while Tim was back to working on opening the door, and Ziva stood between Tony and the rest of the students. Hellion had a force field sparking around his hands, like he was tempted to toss one up between Tony and the rest, while Anole looked like Tony had broken his heart.  
   
Abby turned to him with tears in her eyes, and Scythe couldn't take in anymore. He closed his eyes and vanished in a ripple of smoke.


	7. Chapter 7

When Magneto stepped into the bedroom he’d been using in the sprawling plantation house his team was currently using as a base, he hadn't expected to see Scythe slouching in a chair wearing the uniform of an X-Man. "You can't have been gone long, otherwise Charles would have told me you were on your way."

Scythe was beside Magneto's bay window, staring listlessly out at the night as a cool breeze ruffled the curtains and his hair. He ignored the question implicit in that statement. "I discovered a new power today."  
  
Magneto had enough humanity left in him that he was ashamed by how much the sound of that peaked his interest despite the boy’s wretched expression. "And that would be?"

Tony didn't even bother looking over at Magneto as he vanished in a rippled of black fog. He reappeared a moment later in the chair opposite where he’d first been, still staring out the window into the dark night. Magneto shifted off his helmet and moved to Tony’s former chair. "I suppose that's quite a bit of adjustment for one day?"  
  
"Hell of a lot of adjustment."  
  
"You young mutants don't usually sprout such a variation to your power in one afternoon?"  
  
"Afternoon, maybe, if you've got one of Beast's experiments involved."  
  
"I thought Charles had outlawed all of those after Beast turned himself blue?"  
  
Tony gave a tired half-grin. "Apparently he has much stricter trial protocols now."  
  
There was a time at the beginning of their relationship when Magneto had begrudged every story Tony demanded of him, but now he was more than willing to do whatever the required in exchange for having all that power loyal to him. He'd been worried that once he'd transferred the boy to Charles all manner of things would come out, but despite who was schooling the boy, he still kept Magneto's secrets. That, plus his impressive powers, bought the boy some affection.  
  
"I take it you didn't develop this power for... teleportation? No, teleportation is too crass a word, but I presume you didn't develop this gift and decide to come and visit me?"  
  
Tony paused for a moment then replied flatly. "I killed a student." Tony let that percolate for a moment before he continued. "He was a puppet for the psychic vampire we're tracking. She used him to attack me, and he tried to kill one of my friends."  
  
Magneto had spent enough time with mutants like Charles who felt guilty for imposing their powers on others that he could read between the lines of Tony's blithe statement and know the boy's hand had been forced. "Did you think him away?"  
  
Tony flinched at the notion and Magneto continued. "A no, then. I presume you didn't resort to anything so brutish as human violence?"  
  
"Turns out the fire is efficient."  
  
"And the brunt force of that efficiency is why I have a demigod cowering in my sitting room?"  
  
Tony tried to glare at Magneto for using so lofty a term on a boy who preferred to deflect from the strength of his own power, but he was too soul weary to do it properly. Magneto considered himself a saint for not thumping the boy upside the back of the head and sending him back to Charles with his tail between his legs (and he certainly didn't want to think about what it meant for his status as a villain that it didn't even cross his mind to use this weakness to snap Scythe's tenuous acceptance of his own powers and push the boy into the dark).  
  
Magneto knew others in the Brotherhood wondered why he had ever let the boy go to Xavier in the first place, and Magneto couldn't really explain it. He'd felt it in the air the moment Scythe had first expressed his gift, every truly powerful mutant on the east coast had known the same. Something ancient and buried in their mutant genetics recognized the feel of Scythe in the air and demanded they pay attention. Magneto had only made it to Scythe's house ten minutes before Xavier, and the sight of the stricken boy with black eyes cradling a corpse brought painful memories back to Erik, memories that even now plagued his relationship with the boy.  
  
So instead of twisting this to his own advantage, Magnto asked, "How long do you plan on hiding here?"  
  
"I thought you had a thing for murderers?" Scythe snapped.

   
Magneto huffed. "Did you really come to me of all people to be told why you're not a murderer?" Tony glowered and Magneto continued. "You had much better options if that's the conversation you intended to have."  
  
"So, oh great and wise Magneto, why do you think I'm here?"  
  
"Because you don't mind. You killed this boy because you had to, and terrible influence on you that Charles' pacifism is, you think you should feel remorse for that. You don't, because you understand that sometimes death is the only option."  
  
"It shouldn't be."  
  
Magneto snorted, rapidly growing frustrated with Tony's attitude. He flicked his wrist and dragged Tony's chair forward so it bumped into him, then lifted it so that despite Tony's slouch they were looking eye to eye. "You need to understand this before you snap and do something that you regret. You do. not. have. a choice. Things will always slip beyond your control, they will always go wrong, and you will need to kill men to defend your people. The foolish notion that you can exist in this war of ours without spilling blood is a thought for weaker mutants."  
  
"Xavier hasn't done it."  
  
Magneto smirked. "Is that what he told you?" Tony flinched like Magneto had just shattered his world view. "Charles has done whatever he deemed necessary to protect his children."  
  
Tony grunted and stared resolutely out the window, prodding Magneto to continue. "Tell me, what if this woman's obsession with you leads her to try and kill Charles? Or with this  _friend_  of yours? What would you do then?"  
  
Tony slouched further in his chair and Magneto took that as a sign Tony understood but was done talking about it. He planned on letting the boy indulge in a sulk for the rest of the night, Tony had always been disturbingly self-aware. "Do you want to know what it feels like to teleport?"  
  
"Absolutely not.," Magneto answered, which he should've known was just begging Scythe to snare his arm and bring him straight to Xavier's office.  


#######  


"But Professor, we have to go after him!" Abby shouted.  
  
She'd been demanding that the professors do something to find Tony and save him for the last ten minutes, terrified that he'd think they blamed him for what he'd had to do, or that they didn't want him with them anymore. But more than a few of the professors thought that it wouldn't be a bad thing for him to stay away and never come back.  
  
Volt's body was laid out on one of the tables in autopsy, with McCoy and Ducky conducting an examination while the X-Men and some of the students lined up along the wall waiting for the medical pronouncement. Most of the students from the Danger Room were in the infirmary being tended to by Jean, but Tim and Abby had insisted they come in, leaving Ziva to guard the door while, oddly enough, an apologetic Cait guarded with her. Gibbs however, ignored both the infirmary, aplace by the wall, and a spot arguing at Abby`s side to instead settle at the head of the autopsy table, silently staring down at Volt's body while ignoring Beast and Ducky as they conducted their exam.  
  
Abby fought with the teachers, explaining what had really happened, with Tim her silent but firm shadow. Xavier paid no heed to the drama, instead watching Jethro watch the body, the professor being the only person in the room who noticed that Jethro's pupils were blown, his power of foresight in full effect. Xavier quietly tapped into the images spiraling across Jethro's mind, watching the dozens of ways that fight could have played out and what Tony could've done instead of ending it then and there. But the longer they watched, the more they both came to accept that Volt's death was an act of mercy instead of all the possible fates that might have awaited them if Tony had done something different.

  
After several minutes, Ducky and McCoy shared a look, then Ducky cleared his throat, ready to announce their findings. The room stilled and he declared, "It was a very thorough death. Tony had no way to determine where the vampire had her drain tethered, so he destroyed all the most likely places: the heart, the brain, and the nervous system. We can't tell where the tether was located, but I can tell you that Volt no longer bears any mark on him connecting him to the perpetrator. However, we _can_ tell you that had Tony not intervened, then Volt would have been dead within minutes anyway. The seizing he endured was the result of a strenuous and extreme drain on his system, the body's natural reaction to all its internal organs shutting down simultaneously."  
  
"And if Tony had left Volt untouched to die on his own?" Cyclops asked.  
  
"Then the connection probably would have been open long enough to kill Jethro as well."  
  
"But what do we do?" Storm asked. "Killing should be a last resort. We had students in that room who might have been able to break through the Danger Room's defenses so the Professor could get in, or talked to the mutant to try and get her to hold off on hurting Volt. Killing wasn't necessary." Abby tried to interrupted but Storm plowed on. "And we have to address how extreme his power is, and whether or not he can be trusted among the rest of the students."  
  
Everyone else in the room was ready to argue the point with her, but Xavier spoke first. "Jethro, what do you think?"  
  
Gibbs looked over at the Professor, fully aware that the other mutant had been in his head for the last few minutes. "It was the best option."  
  
Everyone looked a little stunned at the announcement. Jethro's power was supposed to be brief flashes of imminent danger, not what might have gone wrong after the battle was over. Of course, Gibbs didn't offer an explanation for this part of his power that he'd kept from everyone but Xavier, and no one chose to push him on it. "If he hadn't done what he did I'd probably have turned Tony as well and we'd be destroying the school."  
  
Abby shuddered at the thought, and all of them were so uncomfortable with the concept of anyone taking over their minds and using their powers that they let his statement stand. "How do you think we should proceed?" Xavier asked.  
  
"Find him and bring him home before he goes after this mutant on his own."  
  
Xavier gave him a small, pleased smile and replied, "Excellent. He just arrived in my office."  


#######  


Magneto had been in Xavier's office plenty of times over the years, and every time he hated it. For some reason every student in the whole infernal building thought that Xavier was never doing anything more important than what they needed him for. Students would burst into Xavier's office without knocking, assuming that the telepath would know they were coming just because they'd thought about it on the way down the stairs. Every time he and Xavier got interrupted in one of their unscheduled late night chats, Magneto would tell Charles that next time they were meeting someplace without any damn students. Considering that he and Tony had been in Xavier's office for under a minute when a girl with skewed black pigtails burst into the room and tossed herself at Tony, Magneto considered it a legitimate complaint.  
  
"Where did you go, Tony! How could you leave us? We were so worried about you!" Magneto watched with interest as Tony froze for a moment until his brain caught up with the girl's desperate words and he sunk into her embrace.  
  
The current team of X-Men and a few more students burstsinto the room behind her, all led by Xavier with a pleased smile that was the same smirk he had when he thought Magneto had conceded a point. Magneto rolled his eyes, ready to spout something undignified at Xavier, but then Tony froze. Magneto followed Scythe`s gaze and found him focused on a blue-eyed boy frozen in the doorway.  
  
Tony shifted out of the girl's embrace and suddenly found himself wrapped in the arms of this blue-eyed boy, murmuring apologies to him while the other onemuttered his thanks.  
  
Magneto turned to Xavier with a raised eyebrow and very clearly thought,  _What goes on at this school of yours, Charles?_  
  
Xavier blushed in a way that Erik was positive a man of his age shouldn't be capable of, and suddenly the boys realized that they were wrapped around one another with witnesses staring and they jumped apart. Magneto had to give props to Tony's blue-eyed beau because he stuck out his chin at the professors who were gaping and held on to Tony's hand despite the stares.  
  
Xavier smiled at them both and said, "Are you ready to venture to the club where the mutant was spotted or shall we postpone until you're feeling better, Scythe?"  
  
"Just like that? No demanding an explanation?" Xavier just raised an eyebrow that reminded Tony he already knew everything he needed to know. "Right, good point. But you're alright with how it went down?"  
  
"I am never alright with the death of a member of our kind, Scythe. But given the options presented to you, this was the best course of action."  
  
Tony paused in confusion, then suddenly all the pieces slammed together and he looked to Jethro in surprise at this new dimension to his power. Gibbs squeezed his hand in a silent 'I'll tell you later' and Tony turned a bright smile on Xavier and said "Let's go get her."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry! I thought I'd posted the last chapter right before I went out of town, only it turns out I edited it, uploaded it, and didn't actually click the 'post' button. By the time I got back, I didn't even realize that it was weird that I didn't have any comments.
> 
> So, here's the last chapter that has just been sitting in my drafts for two months.

Magneto was put in a car with the rest of the X-Men, devoutly ignoring the fact that he'd been squished in to the middle row between Wolverine and Cyclops.  _You ought to teach your men subtlety,_  he said to Charles within the privacy of his own mind.  
  
 _Says the man who walks around in a purple helmet._  
  
 _My arch nemesis is a bald telepath, I'm allowed to be a little dramatic._  
  
Xavier smiled at that, catching Erik's own grin in the rearview mirror of the car. Erik's gaze broke off, catching the way Jethro and Tony were sitting beside one another in the small row behind them, just a hair too close so their thighs could press together. Both Erik and Charles knew all too well the protective way Jethro was hovering over Tony, trying to look like he didn't care what Tony was rambling about to belie his own nervousness.  
  
 _Did you ever think we'd make it this far?_  Xavier asked.  
  
After all these years apart Magneto still knew him well enough to know what Xavier meant to ask.  _Honestly, no. I always thought that at some point you'd grow tired of watching our people be mistreated and you'd break._  
  
Charles snorted both mentally and physically, and Cyclops stiffened beside Magneto, knowing from a lifetime of observation that the two men were having a mental conversation, and he was not happy about it at all. _Your boy would like you to stop talking to me._  
  
Charles smirked, I  _don't think you're allowed to scold me for his behavior, since if the rest of us weren't here, your boy would be kissing mine._  
  
 _...That was surprisingly dirty of you, Charles._  
  
 _It's been quite a while since I've been around someone who wouldn't think it was a sign of the apocalypse to have me speak in such a manner._  
  
You brought it on yourself.  
  
By being reputable?  
  
By having a stick up your ass.  
  
Erik could tell that Charles was less than pleased with having such a phrase spoken in his mind, but he let the moment pass. A lifetime spent revolving around one another meant that Magento could sense in the silence Xavier's wonder if they might have turned out like the two young men if they'd met in this modern world, or if they were always meant for this path. It was a question they'd both asked themselves in the darkest moments of their war, wondering what they each might have done differently.  
  
As Magneto watched Xavier watch the boys with gentle eyes, he knew the telepath feared that history was doomed to repeat itself.

 

#######

  
The street outside the club thrummed with the base line of techno playing inside, and Xavier spared a moment to feel his age. Erik smirked in a way that meant he knew precisely what Charles was thinking and said, "I assume you'd prefer giving the humans a chance to escape?"  
  
Xavier paused a moment before he replied, "Every mind I can touch is now under the impression that they'd very much like to go home and get a good night's rest. However, there are several minds wrapped in a protective darkness that I can only assume belongs to our perpetrator."  
  
"So you've warned our target that we're coming?" Magneto replied snidely.  
  
"It's better this way." Tony interrupted. "We don't want her to have the chance to power up on anyone else." Magneto nodded his agreement and started for the front entrance of the club while Tony made for the back.

Cyclops and Xavier followed Magneto while Gibbs and Wolverine tailed Tony, muttering, "You're not really ones for group discussion are you?" Tony just grinned at that both because he knew for all their complaining, this was really the way they preferred it.  
  
Wolverine sliced the lock on the back door, and they slipped in just in time to hear the low, throaty laugh of their prey at something Magneto had said. "Why boys, I'm flattered. What could I possibly have done to garner the attention of both of you?"  
  
"An attack against one of our species is an attack against us all Selene, you know this."  
  
Tony shifted so he could get a clear view of the speakers, just in time to see a black-haired woman encased in leather laugh. "You boys are the ones who kill each other. The mutant world turns on itself because you can't find a path that satisfies you both." She lifted her chin imperiously and sneered down at them. "Because you've done such an abysmal job, I've decided to take over your responsibilities and lead our people in a new world order."  
  
Gibbs smirked at Tony, something that clearly said, 'Jen may be difficult, but at least the girl after me isn't insane.' Tony just rolled his eyes and got into place.  
  
"And let me guess," Xavier interrupted, "this 'new world order' involves enslaving all of humanity to operate as your cattle, while all mutant kind worships at your feet?"  
  
Selene leered, and Xavier muttered, "How terribly unoriginal."  
  
Magneto smirked and Selene shouted, "You pathetic worm! How dare you mock me!"  
  
"Your master plan has thus far involved attempting to seduce a teenage boy, and you've failed rather spectacularly at it," Magneto replied. "Pardon me if we're not appropriately awed."  
  
Xavier chuckled and Selene screamed, unleashing the various mutants throughout the club that she held in her thrall and sending them after the X-Men.  
  
Wolverine smirked and muttered, "Cheeky bastard," before the other mutants were on them, and Xavier's mental voice calmly reminded them that he'd prefer it if no one else died today.  
  
Xavier and Selene stood at the center of the room, with the Professor serenely staring down the woman in a telepathic battle. Xavier was universally acknowledged as the most powerful telepath on the planet, but since Selene had been draining mutants for the last few months she had a lot of brute force to throw around. Tony assumed that the telekinesis she was using to toss around objects trying to either hit or distract Xavier was a natural mutation, and added it to the mental list they were keeping on her. He wasn't too worried about those attacks though, because Magneto was standing behind Xavier's chair, looking almost bored as he countered everything she threw.  
  
Gibbs darted back and forth, avoiding each burst of power before the enemy was even ready to make them, and dropping the other mutants unconscious to the floor after a few moves apiece. Tony wasted a moment wondering how in the world he'd managed to survive all the fights with Gibbs that he'd been through without making a fool of himself.  
  
The four X-Men unoccupied by Selene took down her henchmen with almost no trouble. Cyclops and Wolverine found their way to one another easily, and fought well, watching one another's backs despite the fact that they were known for their disagreements. Gibbs and Tony moved perfectly with each other, Tony stopping attacks in a burst of fire while Gibbs used his training to drop them to the ground unconscious.  
  
The whole thing was working out perfectly, until Selene let out a screech at whatever Xavier was doing and let out a burst of flame of her own. Magneto got one of the club's metal tables up in time to block them, but she proved adept enough at controlling the flames that when she turned to face Tony, the wall of fire that she'd sent at Magneto and Xavier expanded to protect her on all sides, keeping the others out.  
  
"We're meant to be together Scythe, you know this. I'll reign over this world with you at my side."  
  
Jethro snorted at the ranting, and Selene's eyes narrowed at the impertinence. She flicked her wrist and sent Jethro flying across the room to smash into the far wall, and Tony turned to send a rush of fire at her, assuming that Xavier's stipulation against killing didn't extend to her. She used her own gifts to bend the fire around her, keeping it from making contact. Her servants were slowly getting back to their feet, converging on Jethro with her added strength, and Tony couldn't turn his back on her to go and help him.  
  
"If you're going to fight me, then fight me!" She shouted, waiving her men forward to attack him en masse. "You could stop all of them, but you're letting yourself lose because you think these other mutants, these _lesser_ mutants, would disapprove," she sneered.  
  
"No, because I think it's wrong!" Tony bobbed around the mutants trying to close in on him, slithering out of the grip of one only to be faced with the thick bulk of another.  
  
"I'll have to remedy you of that notion then."  
  
Tony twisted around a slower mutant only to come face to face with the business end of a broken table leg. Time seemed to slow for a moment as Tony saw the pointed metal coming straight for his chest, and though he lunged to the side to avoid the strike, he knew it wasn't going to be enough to save him. He might be about to die, but the rebellious part of Tony was happy that at least he wouldn't live down to Selene's expectation that when he was faced with his own death Tony would kill rather than be killed.  
  
But, he hadn't counted on Jethro.  
  
Tony had been so caught up in his own fight that he didn't catch the sharp dilation in Gibbs' eyes that meant he saw what was coming. Jethro shoved his way past the mutants trying to stop him and pushed Tony out of the way, catching the metal straight on in his own chest. Tony landed hard on the floor and wrenched around to see Jethro fall. Selene's bright and noxious chuckle filled his senses and before Tony could think better of it he twisted himself back around and launched himself at Selene.  
  
The cackling just got worse as she used her telekinesis against him, trying to toss him back to where he came from. Before he hit one of the pillars Tony twisted around and shot a ball of black fire at her, scorching her with its unnatural heat and causing her to pull back and break off her concentration before he crashed. Jethro dropped to the floor.  
  
"You filthy boy!" she shrieked at him. "I never should have let Magneto touch you! He's ruined you!"  
  
Tony lurched back to his feet and replied, "You think I would've been better off with Xavier?"  
  
"Both of them would've failed you," she sneered. "That wretch has made you afraid of your own power, tied you to that useless boy and made you believe that his opinion on you and your gifts is what matters. You are a god, you deserve to use them freely, without the restrains that these miserable creatures put on you!"  
  
The fire Tony had in his hands raced up his arms and he lost control of his powers. He shot black fire at her, and despite Selene's gift for flame manipulation, Tony's fire was raging out of control and she couldn't stop it. Selene screamed at him to stop, but Tony was no longer in a place where he could bring himself to. He could feel the shift in the air when Selene tried to pull on the tethers she had attached to her victims, drawing on their strength to fight Tony off.  
  
With his power ripping beyond his control and filling the space around them, Tony could almost see the strings of power stretching out from her, binding her to her victims. He reached out his hand and burned them up. Selene gasped as her reserves were cut, and Tony took a twisted sense of satisfaction from the way fear flickered through her eyes.  
  
"Your power is unnatural, derived from sucking the strength out of others rather than coming from you. Now you're facing someone whose gifts are their own, lets see how you handle it." He sent out a whiplash of fire, scalding her skin and forcing her back.  
  
"You can't kill me!" she insisted. "I am Selene! There is no one more powerful than I!"  
  
Tony just rolled his eyes and replied, "You're nothing." His power snapped out again and doubled her over. She broke then, and the fire she'd been trying to keep up between them and the mutants on the outside flickered out. Xavier had seen to it that the mutants she had under her control were now safe outside the building, and Magneto was kneeling over Jethro, keeping the perfect amount of pressure on his wounds with metal he'd picked up in the club.  
  
Tony staggered over to Jethro and gently ran his fingers through Jethro's sweaty hair. "Is he gonna be okay?"  
  
"Stop worrying, I'll be fine."  
  
Tony ignored Jethro's objections and kept his focus on Magneto until the elder mutant answered. "I have sufficient pressure on the wound, and from what I can tell nothing serious was damaged from the blow. Charles has Beast and Jean on the way to tend to him and see him back to the infirmary."  
  
Selene hissed behind them, and that was all the warning Tony got that his opponent had managed to right herself. Tony dropped himself over Jethro to protect him, while Magneto was faster on the draw than any of them. He called a table out before them, blocking the shrapnel she threw at their way. Magneto grasped Tony by the chin and forced the boy to look him in the eye. "She will never stop coming. She hunt you for the rest of your days and long after you're dust she'll do it to another. Stop her. Protect your boy, protect your people, and stop her."  
  
Tony felt the steady rise and fall of Jethro's chest beneath his hand and didn't even bother turning around to watch as Selene dropped to the floor with a dull thump. He was too terrified to look down at Jethro and see the other man's disgust at how easy that was for him to do, but Gibbs slipped up his own hand to wrap around Tony's and he said, "You did the right thing."  
  
Tony squeezed Jethro's hand and replied, "Doesn't make it any better."  
  
"It was either her or me."  
  
Beast and Jean chose that moment to barrel in with Ducky straight behind them. Ducky was on a cell phone and judging by the sharp sounds coming from the other end, he was getting the scolding of his life from Abby. "Yes, yes, I can see him... he's right in front of me Abigail... and how am I supposed to test him properly if I'm on the phone?" Ducky rolled his eyes and tilted his head at an awkward angle to cradle the phone to his ear without being forced to use his hands. He gently rested a palm on Jethro's chest, right beside Tony's hand and paused for a moment, soaking in all the parts of Jethro and taking stock of their status. After a moment of silent contemplation he reassumed the phone and declared, "Abigail, he's fine. Magneto has once again displayed his brilliance with metal and managed to maneuver the weapon so it avoided damage to major organs. He'll be sore, but fine."  
  
With that Ducky shut the phone with a sharp click and tossed it to a grinning Cyclops. "Geez, Duck," Gibbs commented, "you're turning into me."  
  
"Indeed, Jethro. And were you not on the floor I would smack you upside the head as you seem so fond of doing to others to reprimand you for such reckless behavior."  
  
"Wasn't reckless, Duck."  
  
"You got speared, Jethro! How, in this day and age, did you manage to come to a mutant fight and get yourself skewered by a metal pole when you were on the same team as the man who controls metal? It's a feat I thought not even you were capable of."  
  
"He pushed me out of the way, Ducky." Tony interrupted. That comment took all the wind out of Ducky's ranting sails and he simply huffed and went back to examining the wound.  
  
Tony slipped back from Jethro so the doctors could have room to work, and Magneto rested a hand on his shoulder, tugging him further away from the excitement. "It's time to go."  
  
"But-"  
  
"He'll live."  
  
"Yeah, but I'd like to stay and make sure."  
  
Magneto stared at him in the all-knowing way that always made Tony want to duck his head and cringe like a little boy. Then suddenly, he said something that Tony was not expecting, "Charles is the best friend I ever had. He is a brother to me."  
  
"...Magneto?"  
  
"Don't interrupt me, there's a good chance I'll never say this again. It's been decades since our division and we both still hold to foolish hope that the other will come to us and ask to stand beside us."  
  
Tony looked back to Jethro with a pained expression and replied, "Why are you telling me this?"  
  
"Because tonight your people need you. Tomorrow, and every tomorrow after, he'll welcome you back, but tonight you are needed elsewhere. They need to hear from us that they are safe and the problem has been dealt with."  
  
Tony knew it was a weak excuse, but he also knew that if he didn't go back to the Brotherhood tonight, he'd likely never be taken back by them. For all the peace of Xavier's academy, Tony still didn't disagree with the Brotherhood.  
  
Tony took Magneto's wrist to teleport away and paused just long enough to send Xavier the very clear thought,  _I'll be back._  


#######  


Three days had passed since Tony had vanished into the night with Magneto at his side, and Jethro was starting to get testy. Not that anyone would dare accuse him of such behavior, but Abby was spending a lot of time by his infirmary bed to keep him company, and even Jen knew better than to get anywhere near him unless she wanted a fight.  
  
Late on the third day, long after Abby had gone to her own room, Jethro was still awake, frustrated that despite the fact his powers meant he healed faster than normal he still wasn't completely better. The infirmary door swished quietly open, as though the door was doing it's best to keep from disturbing the patient. No one walked in from the other side, obviously uncertain that they'd be allowed in, and if they were anyone other than Ducky or Abby then they had a reason to be cautious.  
  
After a moment Tony stuck his head around the edge of the door, "Hey Jethro."  
  
Gibbs was awake, sitting up in his bed reading by the soft light of a lamp. He put the book aside and grumbled, "Nice of you to turn up."  
  
Tony just grinned and hopped up beside Jethro on the bed, leaving just enough space between them so Gibbs could tell himself he was the one putting moves on Tony and not the other way around. "Oh come on Jethro, you know I had to go check on the Brotherhood. They were the ones getting attacked by Selene and we had to make sure that I didn't do anybody harm when I cut her off."  
  
Gibbs just watched him ramble, letting him go uninhibited until he just trailed to a stop. When he did, Jethro knew enough to read between the lines and announced, "You're staying with them."  
  
Tony flinched at how quickly Gibbs had leapt to the right conclusion and replied, "They're my people, Gibbs. We don't have Xavier's connections, or the X-Men, we need whatever strength we can get to protect them."  
  
Gibbs was frustrated, but couldn't quite disagree. Tony prodded Jethro into lying down on the bed, resting like he was supposed to be. When Jethro was situated according to Tony's specifications the other boy curled up beside him, pressed close to his side with his head pillowed on Jethro's chest. Jethro was still too wounded for it to go any further than that (and neither one of them wanted to get caught on the infirmary's security cameras), but it was nice to have him warm and close.  
  
"They've got you on special assignment for the military soon, don't they?" Tony asked, breaking the silence.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"So it's not like you'll be here all the time anyway. So, when you're in town and not being a spy, then I'll drop by and we'll see each other."  
  
Jethro wound a strong arm around Tony's shoulder's and grumbled, "Sure."  
  
Tony breathed in the smell of Jethro, trying to ramble out all the reasons he couldn't stay, but he was too restful in this moment to worry about explaining. "But Jet,"  
  
"In the morning, Tone. We'll deal with it tomorrow."  
  
And if Ducky had to prod them into different beds in the morning so they could at least pretend that no one knew they were besotted, he kept his comments to himself. And if Xavier had Tony assigned to Jethro's room, he ignored the fact that they never had a second bed installed. And if, despite all his assertions to the contrary, Tony spent more time in his X-Men uniform than running with the Brotherhood, no one complained.


End file.
